Legal briefing on the rights of stateless Palestinians in the UK September 2025 French Court has also established that, in accordance with Article 8 ECHR, the private life and family situation of a Palestinian refugee should be taken into consideration when assessing whether assistance from UNRWA has ceased in the context of Article 1(2)(i) of the 1954 Convention. This includes considering the applicant’s family ties and length of residence in France.142 In Belgium, in a 2009 case, the Court of Cassation took a more progressive interpretation of the application of the exclusion clause. The Court ruled that once a claimant resided outside one of UNRWA’s areas of operation, even if temporarily, they were no longer receiving assistance for the purposes of Article 1(2)(i) and therefore were not subject to the exclusion clause under the 1954 Convention. 143 This clause, as well as Part 9 grounds for refusal, have been cited by practitioners as some of the key challenges facing Palestinians in obtaining leave to remain as a stateless person in the UK. In the UK, there is no right to appeal a refusal of an application for leave to remain as a stateless person. Thus, there is no case law on this issue in the UK context. Furthermore, the Administrative Review team in the Home Office do not provide substantive written reasons following an Administrate Review. In general, the lack of adequate safeguards in applications for leave to remain as a stateless person may serve to disproportionately impact stateless Palestinians due to the complicated legal nature of their cases. The UNHCR audit of the Home Office approach to decision-making in the UK SDP, from December 2020, recommended a full statutory appeal against a refusal of statelessness leave, among other recommendations for reform of the procedure.144 142 ibid. Belgium, Court of Cassation, judgment no. C.06.0427 (22 January 2009). 144 UNHCR, Statelessness Determination in the UK: A UNHCR audit (fn 129). See also ENS, Statelessness Index: United Kingdom. 143 30