This blog is the first in a short series looking at citizenship, statelessness and the law on state occupation. I open the debate with the unusual case of a man from Western Sahara, a Sahrawi, who unsuccessfully begged a French court to treat him as stateless rather than as having Moroccan citizenship. Given the challenges of being stateless, what would …
Nearly 18 months on from the start of the pandemic, a lot has changed. We (well, some of us) have access to vaccines, ventilators, oxygen and even funding to support those who have suffered loss of earnings. But many countries have struggled to provide the healthcare and financial support their residents and citizens need. Equally, rolling out the vaccine has …
Colombia was recently praised for recognising what should be obvious: the arrival, over the last couple of years, of some 1.5 million migrants and refugees from its neighbour Venezuela might be Venezuela’s loss, but it is Colombia’s gain. Colombia chose to maximise the benefits it will gain from the new arrivals by giving legal status to Venezuelan migrants and refugees. …
In this blog I consider the recent decision of the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) in the case of a young boy living in the Netherlands, Denny Zhao. Zhao is registered as of ‘nationality unknown’ rather than stateless. Under current Dutch law and procedure he has no prospect of finding protection as a stateless person, becoming a Dutch citizen, or …
Malta finally acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons on 11 December 2019. I discuss what this means for Malta’s stateless on the excellent statelessness.eu blog from the European Network on Statelessness. The European Network on Statelessness brings together non-governmental organisations, academic initiatives, and individual experts committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. As well as …
When it comes to reducing, and even eradicating statelessness, one country has got it just right. The Kyrgyz Republic has recently announced that it has ended statelessness within its borders. Let’s reflect on that. There were stateless people, in the thousands, living in the Kyrgyz Republic, and then the number of stateless individuals was reduced to 0. Not by 2024 …
In my last blog I looked at how climate change and cross-border migration interrelate and what would happen in the event that entire communities and even states were displaced due to climate change. In the rest of this series I look at which international law regimes might offer protection now and in the future. And where better to start, for …
The current issue of the excellent Statelessness & Citizenship Review is out now. I was delighted to be asked to contribute a case note to this year’s volume. Mulowayi v Minister of Home Affairs is an appeal to the South African Constitutional Court from a decision of the High Court of South Africa dealing with the validity of a regulation …
My recent analysis of the CJEU’s judgment in Bilali C-720/17 on statelessness and subsidiary protection is making a guest appearance on the excellent and informative blog by the European Network on Statelessness. The European Network on Statelessness is the collaboration of non-governmental organisations, academic initiatives, and individual experts committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. As well as its weekly blog, …
Unsettled Status – The CJEU’s judgment in Bilali C-720/17 on statelessness and subsidiary protection
I wrote about the opinion of the Advocate General in this case earlier this year. In this blog I consider the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the case of Bilali v Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl C-720/17. The decision of the CJEU is that subsidiary protection could be revoked even though the mistake …
