Breaking the Presumption The law is silent on the timeframe in which the national civil registry system should conduct the investigation, and there is no provision in the law specifying the procedure at the competent civil registry office. It also seems as if an additional cost will be the burden on the applicant to follow up once the case is referred to the civil registry system. If the applicant is not considered a national by the national civil registry system, the continuation of the SDP depends on prior administrative or judicial processes and CONARE’s corresponding notification. If the applicant does not have access to legal assistance, they may face obstacles or delays. Among the eight countries with SDP norms regarding the identification of nationals, Paraguay is the only country that has specifically regulated the protection of persons with disabilities, also taking into account the situation of persons with psychosocial or mental disability. The Paraguayan SDP orders the referral of these cases for assistance on disability matters. This norm also establishes the mechanism for investigating and verifying that the applicant is a national of the country via the competent civil registry authorities. Nevertheless, the SDP expressly guarantees the right of nationality to persons with disabilities without further delays stating that, ‘in case of doubt’, 82 a person with a disability will be presumed to be a national of the state. Panama: Executive Decree No 10 of 16 January 2019 (‘Executive Decree No 10’) 83 Article 18 of Executive Decree No 10 disposes the request to competent institutions during the registration phase of the SDP application. Following the opening of the file and its registration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will immediately send official communications to the National Civil Registry Office and the Electoral Court. The Ministry will also request a certification that the applicant’s birth is not registered in the Republic of Panama, that there is no ongoing process occurring in this regard or whether a request for late birth registration has been made and rejected. Following an application submitted for a determination of statelessness, within the registry phase, the SDP authority shall request the national civil registry office to provide a certification detailing the links the applicant may have with Panama in terms of nationality. The legislation does not provide a deadline for this process. Articles 29, 30 and 31 of Executive Decree No 10 establish a procedure to register persons identified as nationals in coordination with the national civil registry system and the Electoral Court. If the applicant is identified as a national, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall suspend the SDP and refer the case, with the corresponding evidence, to the National Civil Registry Office — an entity that is part of the Electoral Court — to proceed with late birth registration. The National Civil Registry Office has three months to investigate, receive a declaration from the applicant and decide whether to proceed with the late birth registration. If the National Registry Civil Office proceeds with the late birth registration and, therefore, the recognition of nationality, it shall send the birth certificate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conclude the SDP. Conversely, if the applicant is found not to be a national, the National Registry Civil Office shall 82 83 See Paraguayan Act No 6.149 (n 68) arts 62–65. Panama Executive Decree No 10 (n 68). 79