Spain - Supreme Court (Contentious-Administrative Chamber), decision 1091/2020 (appeal no. 3661/2019)

Court name: Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo)
State: Spain
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention
Key aspects: Protection, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness determination

The initiation of the procedure for the recognition of statelessness status does not require the applicant to be in the national territory, it is sufficient for the applicant to be at a border point.

ECtHR - Ghoumid and Others v. France

Court name: European Court of Human Rights
State: France
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law, Other international law
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Deprivation of nationality, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Respect for private and family life, Stateless status and documentation

Five applicants of dual nationality, convicted in 2007 of participating in a criminal association in a terrorist context, were stripped of their French nationality in October 2015 by Prime Minister decrees. The Court held that the decision to forfeit the applicants’ French nationality did not have a disproportionate impact on their private lives and therefore was not in violation of Article 8 of the Convention.

Czech Republic - A.K. and E.K. v. Ministry of Interior

Court name: Municipal Court Prague
State: Czech Republic
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention, 1961 Statelessness Convention, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Other international law
Key aspects: Access to social and economic rights, Protection, Residence permit, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness and asylum, Statelessness determination

The court stated that “not admitting applicants for statelessness status to an asylum seekers' accommodation centre is an unlawful action” and the applicants should be admitted to an accommodation centre until a decision is made on their applications for recognition as a stateless person. The case was argued based on an analogy with the asylum procedure, as the reference to stateless persons is currently in the Czech Asylum Act. 

Ukraine - Supreme Administrative Court, judgment no. К/9901/8478/20

Court name: Supreme Court of Administrative Cassation
State: Ukraine
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Country of return, Deportation and removal, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Respect for private and family life, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness determination

The applicant moved to Ukraine in 2005 from Transnistria, a disputed territory of Moldova, and lived in Ukraine for 14 years with his long-term partner and her children and grandchildren, before receiving a deportation order to Moldova. He disputed the deportation order on the basis of being stateless, having no connection to Moldova, and having a family and private life in Ukraine that are protected under article 8 ECHR. The first two instance courts rejected the applicant's claim, but the Supreme Court of Administrative Cassation ruled in favour of the applicant on the basis of new evidence from the Consulate of Moldova confirming he is not a national of Moldova.