United Kingdom - R (on the application of AM) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department

Court name: Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
State: United Kingdom
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Access to social and economic rights, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Establishing identity, Establishing identity, Respect for private and family life, Statelessness and asylum, Statelessness determination

The case concerns a Belarusian individual who had entered the UK in 1998, whose asylum applications were refused and who spent the subsequent eighteen years in immigration bail as his identity could not be confirmed and he could not be deported to Belarus. He complained that the state of “limbo” in which he was as a result of his immigration bail constituted an infringement of his right to private life. He also alleged that he had become stateless as result of losing his Belarusian nationality. The court found that there was a violation of Article 8 of the ECHR. On the statelessness question, it was held he could not be considered a stateless person. 

France – Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux, 5th Chamber, No. 20BX03197, 9 March 2021

Court name: Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux
State: France
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention
Key aspects: Determination/confirmation of nationality, Discrimination, Establishing identity, Establishing identity, Standard of proof, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness determination

The applicant asked to be granted the status as a stateless person in France, however both the OFPRA (French bureau for the protection of refugees and stateless persons) and the Courts denied him this status on the grounds that he did not take sufficient steps to request nationality from the Armenian authorities. He also argued that people from Azerbaijan face discrimination and are often refused Russian nationality, even when they may be able to benefit from it. The Court concluded that no discrimination exists and the applicant failed to take steps to obtain Russian nationality.  

Croatia – High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia, judgment no. Usž-1311/20-2

Court name: High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia
State: Croatia
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention
Key aspects: Access to social and economic rights, Burden of proof, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Protection, Residence permit, State succession, Statelessness determination

The applicant was born in Croatia in 1998 and has lived there ever since. His parents are citizens of Serbia, but the applicant's citizenship status remained unclear. His request for a permanent residence permit in Croatia was rejected, among others due to lack of a valid travel document, lack of means of subsistence, and lack of health insurance. The Court ordered the authorities to issue a new decision, taking into account the ECHR judgment in Hoti v. Croatia, and the applicant's potential statelessness which is related to widespread difficulties in confirming Serbian citizenship of individuals in a similar situation to the applicant. The applicant initiated a new administrative dispute and the Administrative Court in Rijeka ruled in his favour, however, on appeal, the High Administrative Court rejected the applicant’s request.