should be up-to-date and should be obtained from a variety of reliable sources. The complexity of nationality law and practice in a particular State may justify recourse to expert evidence in some cases.81 B) Existing good practices Establishing statelessness may be a significant challenge, especially in newly established systems, where awareness and expertise on this issue is still limited. A growing number of dedicated databases with comparative information on nationality laws exist at the time of writing, and they offer a wide range of relevant data for statelessness determination.82 At the same time, determining authorities can benefit significantly from any concrete guidance that sets clear benchmarks and pathways for the establishment of material facts and circumstances (i.e. on how to obtain and assess the information available).83 The laws of Hungary,84 Slovakia85 and the Philippines86 provide a good example of such guidance on evidence assessment: these regulations emphasise that potential nationality ties should only (Slovakia, Philippines) or in particular (Hungary) be examined with states with which the applicant has a relevant link, namely birth, previous residence or family links.87 Hungarian law provides further useful guidance since it specifies the types of evidence that will typically be considered in the process of decision-making, namely: • Country information on nationality legislation; • Information provided by UNHCR; • Information provided by foreign authorities; • Information provided by Hungarian diplomatic representations abroad; as well as • Evidence submitted by the applicant.88 The guidance for decision-makers issued by the United Kingdom provides a detailed and useful explanation on gathering and assessing evidence in statelessness determination, including on the types of evidence that should be examined.89 This guidance also requires that decision-makers “should make reasonable efforts to assist the applicant in establishing the necessary evidence, whether by research or enquiry”.90 81 See UNHCR Statelessness Guidelines 2, Para 32-34 82 See for example the EUDO Citizenship Database, or the Refworld database of UNHCR 83 For example, guidance on how to identify the competent authority when making enquiries to a state 84 Act II of 2007 on the Admission and Right of Residence of Third-Country Nationals, 1 July 2007, Section 79 (1) 85 Act No. 404/2011 on Residence of Aliens and Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts, 21 October 2011, Section 46 (3) 86 Department Circular No. 058 – Establishing the Refugees and Stateless Status Determination Procedure, Department of Justice, 18 October 2012, Section 9 87 Note that this principle has also been crystallised in consequent Italian jurisprudence of several decades. 88 Government Decree 114/2007.(V. 24.) on the execution of Act II of 2007 on the Admission and Right of Residence of Third-Country Nationals, Section 164 (1) 89 Applications for leave to remain as a stateless person – Guidance, UK Border Agency, 1 May 2013,Para 3.3 90 Applications for leave to remain as a stateless person – Guidance, UK Border Agency, 1 May 2013,Para 3.2 29