Litigation Toolkit on Statelessness: Volume I October 2022 STRATEGIC OR IMPACT LITIGATION This section provides a framework to understand impact or strategic litigation as well as some guidance to identify strategic cases. It explains the concept of impact litigation and its aims, suggests ways to prioritise and identify cases, how to strategically assess a case and gives guidance on the risks and limitations of pursuing impact litigation. It also includes an indicative example of these issues. 2.1. Concept and aims Impact litigation, or strategic litigation, focuses on litigating individual cases in a way that will bring about a broader legal or social change. A case may be litigated strategically when it focuses not only in obtaining a remedy for one specific person or case, but it also aims to effect broader change and have an impact on a wider group of people. Impact litigation often focuses on issues that are both systemic and systematic, which have historically affected many people and may be deeply rooted in the social system or institutional regimes. Some of the aims of impact litigation are to: • • • • • • • • • • • ensure effective and adequate application of the law clarify the meaning of the law challenge a law or practice that is inconsistent with human rights standards foster the adoption of new law and spark policy changes seek interpretation of an existing law to redefine rights in favour of stronger protection address gaps in legal protection or framework on a particular issue raise awareness and publicise the issue encourage public debate set important precedents achieve systemic change for people in similar situations bring States to account for systematic or widespread human rights violations Impact litigation has the potential to effect deep legal change, and it may also be used to challenge political decisions, achieve certainty around policy changes, or to address systematic human rights violations that affect large numbers of individuals. The judiciary has (sometimes) the power to address such issues and specific challenges. Impact litigation can therefore be a powerful tool to influence law and policy development, to persuade public bodies, institutions, and governments to reconsider their policies or their implementation in practice. In issues such as statelessness, nationality deprivation and the right to a nationality, the current legal framework is mostly based on historic legal instruments, sometimes with a wide margin of discretion for States to decide how to design their nationality laws. Such instruments must be interpreted and applied in light of present-day developments and the evolving human rights landscape. As such, impact litigation also has the advantage 7