8| 1.3.3. Where permitted, any exceptions stated in the Principles should be interpreted in the narrowest possible manner. 2. DEFINITIONS For the purpose of the Principles, the following definitions are applied: 2.1. Nationality 2.1.1. Nationality refers to a legal status of an individual in relation to a State and embodies the legal bond between the individual and State for the purposes of international law. 2.1.2. It is for each State to determine who is considered a national according to its law, in compliance with international law standards. 2.1.3. For the scope of application and interpretation of the Principles, the terms nationality and citizenship are synonymous. 2.2. Deprivation of nationality 2.2.1. Deprivation of nationality refers to any loss, withdrawal or denial of nationality that was not voluntarily requested by the individual. This includes where a State precludes a person or group from obtaining or retaining a nationality, where nationality is automatically lost by operation of the law, and where acts taken by administrative authorities result in a person being deprived of a nationality. 2.2.2. Deprivation of nationality also covers situations where there is no formal act by a State but where the practice of its competent authorities clearly shows that they have ceased to consider a person as a national, including where authorities persistently refuse to issue or renew documents, or in cases of confiscation of identity documents and/or expulsion from the territory coupled with a statement by authorities that a person is not considered a national. 2.3. Statelessness 2.3.1. The term stateless person means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. 2.3.2. Establishing whether a person is considered as a national under the operation of a State’s law requires a careful analysis of how the competent