documentation and poor statistical representation as an example of the structural discrimination against Roma.10 Obligations under Article 8 ECHR 5. 6. 7. 8. Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is engaged when (I) one (or more) of the protected rights is identified and at issue, (ii) there has been an interference or a failure to meet a positive obligation in relation to one or more of those rights. Any such interference or failure must (i) be in accordance with a law which has the requisite “quality of law”, (ii) pursue an identified legitimate aim, and (iii) be proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued. This obligation may include the adoption of specific measures and due diligence to secure this right.11 Article 8 encompasses a broad range of rights including a person’s right to personal autonomy,12 the right to establish and develop relationships with others,13 and the right to establish details of one’s identity.14 Where refusals of birth registration are concerned, the protected rights are likely to be the right to respect for private life (personal autonomy and identity). The Court recently found that the right to respect for private life under Article 8 includes an individual’s right to have one’s birth registered, given its impact on a person’s daily life and as a prerequisite for establishing personal identity.15 The failure to have one’s birth registered has been found to interfere with an individual’s “right to a recognised identity under Article 8” and sense of personal autonomy. 16 The right to a recognised identity also includes, where relevant, access to other identity documents.17 The Court has previously acknowledged the significant and negative consequences of lacking birth registration or identity documents on, inter alia, an individual’s “ability to pursue academic studies and training”,18 opportunities to “secure stable job contracts”,19 feelings of legal security,20 as well as access to certain social and economic benefits.21 The Court has held in e.g. Mennesson v. France and v. Italy 22 that, in accordance with the best interests of the child, States have positive obligations under Article 8 of the Convention to establish a legal relationship between children and their intended biological parent(s). 23 The best interests of the child require that any procedure to establish such relationship must be exempt from excessive formalism.24 The intervenors invite the Court to consider that birth registration is a prerequisite for any procedure to establish a legal parent-child relationship, given the role of birth certificates in conferring legal identity. Refusals of birth registration may also interfere with the right to respect for family life rubric of Article 8 in that it may affect the recognition of family relationships. The Court European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), ENS, ‘Roma Belong. Statelessness, Discrimination and Marginalisation of Roma in the Western Balkans and Ukraine’ (October 2017), pp. 17-18, at statelessness.eu. 11 Hoti v. Croatia, no. 63311/14, 26 July 2018, § 118; Kurić v. Slovenia, no. 26828/06, 26 May 2012, § 358. 12 Pretty v. the United Kingdom, 2346/02, 29 April 2002, §§ 66, 82; Nada v. Switzerland, no. 10593/08, 12 September 2012, § 151. 13 Pretty v. the United Kingdom (n 12), § 61. 14 Hoti v. Croatia (n 11), § 119. 15 G.T.B. v. Spain, no. 3041/19, 16 November 2023, § 118. 16 ibid, § 122. 17 ibid, § 118. 18 ibid, § 123. 19 ibid; Hoti v. Croatia (n 11), § 126; Sudita Keita v. Hungary, no. 42321/15, 12 May 2020, § 34. 20 Kurić and Others v. Slovenia [GC], no. 26828/06, 26 June 2012, § 302; Hoti v. Croatia (n 11), § 126. 21 Hashemi and Others, no. 1480/16, 13 January 2022, § 49. 22 Mennesson v. France, no. 65192/11, 26 June 2014, § 100. 23 C v. Italy, no. 47196/21, 31 August 2023, § 68. 24 ibid. 10 2