retain a nationality in the event of State succession envisioned by the 1961 Convention is essentially an obligation of conduct between States involved in State succession (both predecessor States, and successor States) to ensure that all individuals are accounted for with regards to nationality. The Convention does, however, also contain an explicit obligation for the State to which territory is transferred to ‘confer its nationality on such persons as would otherwise become stateless as a result of the transfer or acquisition’.74 The Council of Europe, in response to a string of State successions in the 1990s, created a Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession,75 which offers more specific guidelines as to the responsibilities of predecessor and successor States. As per the Convention, successor States must grant nationality to those who would become stateless as a result of the State succession if ‘they were habitually resident in the territory which has become territory of the successor State’, or if they have an otherwise ‘appropriate connection’ with the successor State, which may include a legal bond, birth on the territory of the successor State, or their last habitual residence on the territory of the successor State.76 Furthermore, predecessor States must not ‘withdraw its nationality from its nationals who have not acquired the nationality of a successor State and who would otherwise become stateless as a result of State succession.’77 These twin requirements would have the effect of securing the nationality of concerned individuals, and would be effective measures to be implemented to prevent statelessness in the event of State succession. The Council of Europe Convention envisions two ways in which States may grant nationality in the case of State succession; either the passage of legislation accepting the population concerned as nationals of the State ex lege, or the provision of registration or naturalisation procedures. In the event that an individual may have the right to acquire more than one nationality, the person’s wishes should be respected.78 The International Law Commission (ILC) has produced Draft Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in relation to the Succession of States, which provide guidance as to the standards that should be observed to ensure that individuals are not left without nationality in the event of State succession. In a similar manner to the 1961 Convention, the rules set out by the ILC seek to limit instances whereby an individual would be rendered without nationality by requiring that States “take all appropriate measures to prevent persons 34