Spain - Supreme Court, decision (appeal no. nº 798/1999)

The Supreme Court confirms the decision of the National High Court which set aside a judgment of the Ministry of Justice denying an application to obtain Spanish nationality by a stateless person, on the basis that such denial was arbitrary.

Case name (in original language)
Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo, Sala Tercera, Contencioso administrativo, sección 6, Sentencia de 11 de abril de 2005 (recurso nº 4280/2001)
Case status
Decided
Case number
Appeal no. nº 798/1999
Citation
Supreme Court, decision (appeal no. nº 798/1999) 11 April 2005
Date of decision
State
Court / UN Treaty Body
Supreme Court
Language(s) the decision is available in
Spanish
Applicant's country of residence
Spain
Relevant Legislative Provisions

Spanish Civil Code

Facts

The applicant is of Palestinian origin, with no recognised nationality. The applicant’s family moved to Jordan because of the Arab-Israeli war that ended in 1970. Subsequently, when Palestinians and Jordanians came into conflict, the applicant’s family left Jordan and moved to Kuwait until 1979. The applicant then moved to Spain where he was able to renew his Jordanian passport until 1988 when the Embassy of Jordan in Spain denied the application for passport renewal without giving reasons. As a consequence, the applicant submitted annually the registration form for stateless aliens and later applied for Spanish nationality which was denied.

The applicant challenged the administrative act of the Ministry of Justice that rejected the application for Spanish nationality, as it was brief and gave no reasoning. The Supreme Court recognised that no grounds were provided for the denial, and that the applicant is entitled to Spanish nationality.

Decision & Reasoning

The Supreme Court found that Spain may deny an application for nationality on grounds of public order or national interest. However, in the case at hand, the Ministry of Justice has neither addressed nor explained the reasons for the denial, withholding such reasons.

The absence of reasoning cannot be such that it violates the right to effective judicial protection.

The Ministry of Justice designated the reasoning as secret. Although there may be reasons that cannot be disclosed in some applications, those reasons are subject to oversight by the courts and cannot mean that the applicant is deprived of detailed reasoning. The ruling has to explain, in a reasoned and reasonable manner, the grounds for rejection. In the case at hand that has not been done, which constitutes a breach of the right to effective judicial protection.

Outcome

The Supreme Court found a violation of public order and confirmed the decision of the lower court, which previously set aside the unreasoned denial of the application for nationality and granted Spanish nationality to the stateless applicant.