CURIA - Documents 2 of 14 https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document_print.jsf?docid=131... – the Belgian Government, by T. Materne and C. Pochet, acting as Agents, – the German Government, by T. Henze and N. Graf Vitzthum, acting as Agents, – the French Government, by G. de Bergues, S. Menez and B. Beaupère-Manokha, acting as Agents, – the Romanian Government, by F. Abrudan, I. Bara and R.H. Radu, acting as Agents, – the United Kingdom Government, by L. Seeboruth, acting as Agent, and S. Fatima, Barrister, – the European Commission, by M. Condou-Durande and V. Kreuschitz, acting as Agents, after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 13 September 2012, gives the following Judgment 1 This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 12(1)(a) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted (OJ 2004 L 304, p. 12). 2 The reference was made in proceedings between Mr Abed El Karem El Kott, Mr A Radi and Mr Kamel Ismail, all three of whom are stateless persons of Palestinian origin, and the Bevándorlási és Állampolgársági Hivatal (Office for Immigration and Citizenship) (‘the BAH’) concerning the latter’s rejection of their applications for refugee status. Legal context International law The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 3 The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951 (United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 189, p. 150, No 2545 (1954)), entered into force on 22 April 1954. It was supplemented and amended by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, concluded in New York on 31 January 1967, which entered into force on 4 October 1967 (‘the Geneva Convention’). 4 The first subparagraph of Article 1(A)(2) of the Geneva Convention provides that the term ‘refugee’ is to apply to any person who ‘owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence ... is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it’. 5 Article 1D of the Geneva Convention, which introduces exceptional legal status for certain groups of persons, is worded as follows: ‘This Convention shall not apply to persons who are at present receiving from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [HCR] protection or assistance. When such protection or assistance has ceased for any reason, without the position of such persons 15/07/2021, 09:14