2019 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 1(2) provided sufficient evidence that he was stateless, on the balance of probabilities. 20 The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal on the standard of proof and the relevance of statelessness to revocation of the deportation order. ANALYSIS OF THE JUDGMENT A Main Arguments The appellant asserted that he met the standard of proof by approaching the embassy; he was not required to do more himself, by trying to obtain evidence from Guinea as to birth, residence or education etc. He relied on seven arguments, which were supported by UNHCR as Intervener, that the lower standard of proof, as applied in refugee cases, should also apply to statelessness cases: 1. The 1954 Convention was an international treaty which ‘must have an autonomous and international meaning because disparate interpretations would frustrate the intention to provide a uniformity of approach’. 21 The UNCHR Statelessness Handbook should be afforded considerable weight, equivalent to the ‘high persuasive authority’, 22 which is accorded to the UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. 23 2. The 1954 Convention must be interpreted in the light of its intentions, which include protection of stateless persons as a vulnerable group. 24 3. To avoid persons being left in limbo, due to evidential problems, contrary to the humanitarian objectives of the 1954 Convention. 25 4. The difficulty of proving a negative — that they are not a national of any state — often from outside the country where evidence is most likely to be found. The burden of proof should be shared because states have better resources to investigate. 26 5. The court should consider the practice of other states — of 25 states with statelessness determination procedures, six apply the lower standard of proof. 27 6. The line of UK judicial authorities regarding proof of nationality and ability to return were decided prior to the explicit reference to the 1954 Convention in the UK’s Immigration Rules. 28 7. The SSHD guidance on determination of statelessness in immigration procedures refers to a shared burden of proof — at least once the 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ibid [30]. ibid [34]. ibid [43], citing UNCHR Statelessness Handbook (n 4). The Court referred to similar guidance in other cases: see R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex parte Adan [2001] 2 AC 477, 520. AS (Guinea) (n 1) [34]. See also UNCHR Statelessness Handbook (n 4); Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (Handbook, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees January 1992) <https://www.unhcr.org/4d93528a9.pdf>. AS (Guinea) (n 1) [35]. ibid [36]. ibid [37]. ibid [38]. ibid [39]. 338