Legal briefing: Statelessness and the right to respect for private and family life October 2024 préparatoires of the 1954 Convention explicitly refer to the purpose of outlining which of the rights given to refugees would extend to stateless persons.97 This position is supported by UNHCR statements,98 suggesting that no difference in treatment should exist between refugees with a nationality and stateless persons (including stateless refugees) in their access to family reunification, both in law and in practice. The failure to provide family reunification for stateless individuals could therefore result in an interference with the right to respect for private and family life. Under Article 8 ECHR, any interference must be in accordance with the law, meaning interference must have “some basis in domestic law”,99 be “compatible with the rule of law”,100 and include “adequate safeguards”.101 This also relates to the inability of stateless persons to obtain necessary documentation to facilitate family reunification, such as identification documents and proof of family ties. Where stateless refugees are denied the opportunity to benefit from family reunification by being imposed requirements they are unable to fulfil, this would amount to a violation of Article 8(2).102 This is further supported by ECtHR case law in B.F. and Others v. Switzerland which stated that “refugees […] should not be required to ‘do the impossible’ in order to be granted family reunification.”103 These principles can be applied to all cases concerning family reunification for stateless people. By comparison, under EU law, the inability to provide documents is not a justified reason for denying access to family reunification.104 The CJEU has also found that national authorities must take into account the “specific difficulties faced by [refugees] as regards to obtaining evidence in their countries of origin”.105 While these findings are not directly applicable to the ECHR given its separate legal framework, the ECtHR has found EU law to be relevant in its previous cases concerning family reunification and may at its own discretion consider this in future cases.106 Fisher, B. (2022) ’The Travaux Préparatoires of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons’. See pp. 25-27 for discussion of mutatis mutandis application of the 1951 Convention to stateless persons in the 1954 Convention (paragraphs 9-18). To view the original intention to create a Protocol to the 1951 Convention, see discussion on p. viii. 98 UNHCR, ‘The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: Implementation within the European Union Member States and Recommendations for Harmonisation’ (2003), paragraph 159. 99 ECtHR, Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic (applications nos. 47621/13 and 5 others), 8 April 2021, paragraphs 266-269. 100 ECtHR, Big Brother Watch and Others v. the United Kingdom (applications nos. 58170/13, 62322/14 and 24960/15), 25 May 2021, paragraph 332. 101 ECtHR, Bykov v. Russia (application no. 4378/02), 10 March 2009, paragraph 81. 102 ECtHR, Hoti v. Croatia (application no. 63311/14), 26 July 2018, paragraph 126. See also the discussion on this case earlier in this section. 103 ECtHR, B.F. and Others v. Switzerland (application no. 13258/18) 4 July 2023, paragraph 105. For similarities in EU law, see CJEU, Case C-1/23 PPU, 18 April 2023, paragraphs 51-52. The CJEU held that Member States must show flexibility to enable family reunification for applicants who may have issues, for a variety of reasons, in fulfilling the ordinary requirements. 104 Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification, Article 11(2). 105 CJEU, Case C-519/18, TB v. Bevándorlási és Menekültügyi Hivatal, 12 December 2019, paragraph 75. 106 ECtHR, Tanda-Muzinga v. France (application no. 2260/10), 10 July 2014, paragraphs 75-76. The ECtHR referred to Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003, specifically its requirement for national authorities to consider ‘other evidence’ of the existence of family ties if a refugee is unable to provide official supporting documents. 97 19