Court name: First Instance Court of Athens (multi-member)
State: Greece
Date of decision:

The case concerns the applicable legislation under Greek private international law for divorce proceedings regarding a couple of Iranian nationality residing in Greece as asylum seekers. The court found that asylum seekers and refugees cannot be treated as stateless and therefore the legislation of their country of origin is applicable in divorce proceedings. The court postponed the issuance of a final decision until the applicant submits information on Iranian law on divorce to the court.

Court name: Constitutional Court
Date of decision:

The applicant attempted to renounce his Russian nationality as being a national of Russian Federation violated his religious beliefs. The request was refused, as he failed to provide proof of having another nationality or a guarantee of acquisition of another nationality upon renouncing his Russian nationality. The Constitutional Court ruled against the applicant, stating that prohibition on renunciation of a nationality that results in statelessness is in line with international norms, and that the mere possession of Russian nationality cannot be seen as a violation of religious beliefs. 

Court name: Constitutional Court of Austria (Verfassungsgerichtshof)
State: Austria
Date of decision:

Applicant is a refugee from Vietnam, whose refugee status was withdrawn after a number of criminal convictions, combined with the fact that he made a safe trip to Vietnam. He applied for a travel document for foreigners claiming that he is stateless or at least that his nationality status is unclear. The authorities maintained that he was still a Vietnamese national, but the Court sided with the applicant, insisting that the authorities should have taken more factors into account in considering the applicant's potential statelessness. 

Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
Date of decision:

The applicant attempted to naturalise in the Netherlands, but her request was rejected because she did not submit a legalised birth certificate. The applicant argued that as an ethnic Armenian from Azerbaijan she is most likely stateless, and would not be able to get assistance from the authorities in obtaining a birth certificate. The Court upheld the administrative decision to deny naturalisation, as not sufficient evidence was provided that it was in fact impossible for the applicant to obtain a birth certificate in her country of origin. 

Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
Date of decision:

The applicants are ethnic Armenians from Azerbaijan, and claim to be stateless. The applicants applied for naturalisation, which was denied to them on the basis that their identity could not be adequately established, as they neither submitted a valid travel document nor a valid birth certificate from Azerbaijan, and the Dutch municipality records did not formally recognise them as stateless.The Court upheld the administrative decision.

Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
Date of decision:

The applicant, a stateless Palestinian, was denied naturalisation in the Netherlands as he could not submit a legalised copy of his birth certificate, even though he did comply with all other requirements for obtaining Dutch nationality. He argued that it is not feasible for him to obtain a birth certificate from Israel, and submitted supporting statements from the formal Palestinian Delegation in the Hague, but neither the authorities nor the courts were convinced, and his naturalisation request remained denied, leaving him stateless. 

Court name: Supreme Court
Date of decision:

The applicant faces imprisonment for presence in the Netherlands, after he has been informed that a "declaration of undesirability" has been issued against him. His statelessness claim fails in Court, as his statelessness cannot be plausibly assumed. However, the Court does find that the decision to detain has to be better motivated in light of the EU Returns Directive, ensuring that the processes prescribed by the Directive have been completed. 

Court name: Schleswig-Holsteinisches High Regional Court
State: Germany
Date of decision:

The applicant was born in 2011 in Germany to a German father and a stateless mother. Her birth certificate contained the disclaimer that the mother's identity is "unconfirmed", which the applicant and the parents appealed against, as the stateless mother was extensively documented among others with a travel document for stateless persons issued by Germany. The Court upheld the appeal, and ordered the civil registry to issue a new birth certificate without disclaimers as to the mother's identity. 

Court name: Court of Cassation, Civil Chamber
State: France
Date of decision:

The applicant was born in Madagascar and considered himself a French national, as he held French identity documents. However, his registration of French nationality was refused in 2005. He requested to be recognised as a French national, and submitted a number of arguments, among which his statelessness that would result from the refusal to recognise him as French. The Court dismisses his entitlement to French nationality.

Court name: Supreme Court of Saha Republic
Date of decision:

The applicant is a former USSR citizen, who has been residing on the territory of Russian Federation since 1990. He has received an "insert" into his passport in 1994 as evidence of him being recognised as a Russian citizen, which was a standard procedure at a time. In 2011 a "verification" took place - a policy that resulted in questioning of many citizenships acquired after the fall of the Soviet Union, including the applicant. The Court sided with the applicant, considering among others that refusal to recognise him as a Russian citizen would result in his statelessness. 

Court name: Supreme Court of Komi Republic
Date of decision:

The applicant attempted to renounce her Russian nationality without proof of having another nationality or a guarantee of acquiring one. The Court decided that the constitutional right to change one's nationality does not amount to an absolute right to unilaterally renounce a nationality, and that it is not unconstitutional to impose a number of conditions on nationals before allowing renunciation, among which the condition of having secured an alternative nationality. Prohibition of renunciation of nationality with an aim of becoming stateless has been ruled as complying with international standards, in particular with the European Convention on Nationality. 

Court name: Versailles Administrative Court
State: France
Date of decision:

Applicants, both originally from Kazakhstan, appealed the rejection of their statelessness status. They had a document from the Kazakhstan embassy indicating they were no longer nationals, but OFPRA considered they needed to attempt to re-acquire the Kazakh nationality before benefiting from the statelessness status in France, and that the applicants' previous unsuccessful attempts to seek asylum are not an obstacle in attempting to reacquire their former nationality. The Court sided with OFPRA and confirmed the rejection of the statelessness status. 

Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
Date of decision:

The case concerns withdrawal of Dutch nationality from the applicant on the basis of fraud, which left the latter stateless. The fraud consisted of the fact that the applicant's relationship with his partner, which was the basis for the legality of his residence, was not exclusive at the time when he renewed his residence permit and applied for Dutch citizenship. Has it been known to the authorities that the relevant relationship was not exclusive, he would not have qualified for a legal residence permit, nor Dutch nationality, therefore the acquisition of nationality was classified as fraudulent and withdrawn.