EFFECTIVE Rights citizens can enjoy in practice, in contrast to citizenship rights that are protected CITIZENSHIP or granted in law but difficult to realize. This is not a legal term, but a way of RIGHTS describing a situation that can place someone in a condition that is, as a practical matter, very similar to statelessness. People who struggle to enjoy their citizenship rights are not necessarily stateless persons as a matter of law. INTERNALLY Persons or groups that have been forced or obliged to flee their homes—in particular DISPLACED because of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human PERSONS (IDPs) rights, or natural or human-made disasters—and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border. In 1998, the United Nations issued Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, from which this definition is adapted. Current estimates suggest that there are over 40 million IDPs globally. IN SITU STATELESS In situ is Latin for “in place.” In situ stateless persons are those who remain in PERSONS a country in which they were born or have lived most of their lives and where they are not recognized as nationals. The majority of stateless people in the world are in this situation. JUS SANGUINIS In Latin, “jus” means law, and “sanguinis” means blood. Jus sanguinis transmission of nationality refers to legal systems in which nationality is passed from parent to child based on a biological link. JUS SOLI “Jus” means law, as above, and “soli” means soil in Latin. Jus soli transmission of nationality refers to legal systems in which nationality is acquired based on birth on the territory of a particular state. LEGAL IDENTITY In the absence of an internationally agreed upon definition, this guide uses the term “legal identity” to refer to the recognition of an individual as a person before the law. Recognition of legal identity often depends on an individual possessing valid legal identity documentation or other forms of proof of legal identity. See also Legal identity documentation and Proof of legal identity, below. LEGAL Physical documents, digital certificates, identity numbers, or similar credentials that IDENTITY serve as proof of a person’s legal identity. This includes civil status documents DOCUMENTATION (e.g. birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, or death certificate), nationality documents (e.g. nationality certificate, national ID card, passport), and forms of identification based on migration status (e.g. refugee card, foreigner identity card). NATIONALITY See Citizenship, above. PARALEGAL In this guide, paralegal refers to a non-lawyer who uses knowledge of the law, and skills like mediation, organizing, community education, and advocacy to seek concrete and accessible solutions to instances of injustice. Most paralegals are community-based, which gives them an advantage in reaching people, gaining trust, accompanying them in navigating administrative and judicial processes, and spreading knowledge in ways that more conventional legal aid providers often cannot. PARALEGAL A project or program performed entirely or primarily by paralegals or similar PROGRAM community-based grassroots justice advocates. Such projects or programs can complement, or be a component of, traditional legal aid, litigation, and non-litigation advocacy work to support systemic change. 6 | A C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S G U I D E : D O C U M E N T I N G C I T I Z E N S H I P A N D OT H E R F O R M S O F L E G A L I D E N T I T Y