Spain - Supreme Court (Contentious-Administrative Chamber), decision no. 469/2017 (appeal no. 2600/2016)

Court name: Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo)
State: Spain
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention
Key aspects: Burden of proof, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Standard of proof, Statelessness determination

A person born in Tajikistan applied for statelessness status. The applicant argued that he could not ask for nationality from Tajikistan because that country would force him to convert to Islam. The Spanish authorities dismissed the application because, under their understating of Tajikistan law, nationality from that country is granted on a jus sanguinis basis regardless of the religion or ethnicity of the applicant. The court confirmed the decision of the Spanish authorities to deny the statelessness status on the grounds that: (i) given the alleged nationality of his parents it was reasonable to assume that the applicant could have the right to nationality of Tajikistan; (ii) it was not proven that the authorities from Tajikistan actually denied nationality to the applicant, that his parents were not from Tajikistan nor that it was required to convert to Islam to obtain the nationality; and (iii) the applicant filed its application in 2012 despite having arrived in Spain in 2003 (this delay goes against the credibility of the application).

Switzerland - Federal Administrative Court, judgment no. F-6147/2015

Court name: Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht)
State: Switzerland
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention
Key aspects: Access to social and economic rights, Burden of proof, Childhood statelessness, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Exclusion grounds, Protection, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness and asylum, Statelessness determination

Applicants requested to be recognised as stateless in addition to having already been recognised as refugees. The judgments deals with the question of whether refugee status is comparable in rights to the status of nationals within the meaning of the exclusion clause in Article 1(2) of the 1954 Convention. The Court sides with the applicants confirming their right to be recognised as stateless persons in addition to having been granted asylum-based residence status. 

Ireland - E. S. E. v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Court name: High Court
State: Ireland
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Birth registration, Childhood statelessness, Country of return, Deportation and removal, Detention, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Discrimination, Protection

This case concerns an applicant who sought to quash the decision of the respondent which refused to revoke a deportation order made in respect of the applicant. The respondent contended that the applicant had been untruthful throughout the asylum process about his nationality and was therefore not entitled to any relief, while the applicant contended that the applicant’s untruthfulness should not be a bar to relief as substantial grounds established that a real risk to the applicant's life or freedom was inevitable. The Court found in favour of the applicant and quashed the decision of the respondent refusing to revoke the deportation order.