The Broadening Protection Gap made towards the establishment of a Palestinian state and to assistance received by the applicant from the diplomatic representation of the Palestinian Authority in Brussels throughout that case. 53 As far as we are aware, the courts have not followed this new line of reasoning and have upheld the ruling of the Court of Cassation. 54 B The Civil Registrars and the Ministry of Justice in the Framework of Prevention of Statelessness at Birth 1 The Safeguard for Prevention of Statelessness at Birth Article 10 of the Belgian Nationality Code (‘BNC’) provides that a child born in Belgium is Belgian if they would otherwise be stateless at any moment before they reach the age of 18. 55 The authority responsible for the application of this safeguard is the civil registrar of the municipality of the parents’ place of habitual residence. 56 In practice the civil registrar will often seek advice from the Nationality Service of the Ministry of Justice (‘Nationality Service’) — which has an advisory role regarding the interpretation and application of the BNC — or from the local public prosecutor. The Nationality Service has also published standard responses to recurring questions on an online platform available to civil registrars, among which is its position on Palestinian children. 57 2 Application of the Safeguard to Palestinian Children The above shift seems to be taking place in the application of Belgium’s safeguard to prevent statelessness at birth enshrined in art 10 of the BNC. Recently, the Public Prosecutor of Antwerp issued an opinion advising that this safeguard should not be applied to children born in Belgium of parents of Palestinian origin, 58 and it appears that some civil registrar communes have indeed refused to apply art 10 of the BNC to Palestinian children. 59 The Nationality Service, on the other hand, has always advised that the safeguard should be applied to Palestinian children and has recently sent out an 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 See Crown Prosecutor Antwerp, Advice (4 May 2016) (on hand with author). App No 2017/FE/0029, 31 May 2018 (Ghent Court of Appeal) <https://www.agii.be/hof-vanberoep-gent-31-05-2018>; App No 2017/FA/707, 5 June 2018 (Brussels Court of Appeal) <https://www.agii.be/sites/default/files/20180605_brussel.pdf>; App No 2018/EV/6, 3 October 2018 (Antwerp Court of Appeal) <https://www.agii.be/sites/default/files/20181003_antwerpen.pdf>. Code de la Nationalite Belge [Belgian Nationality Code] (Belgium) art 10 <https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_loi/change_lg.pl?language=fr&la=F&table_name=lo i&cn=1984062835>; Mapping Statelessness (n 22) [506]–[508]. Mapping Statelessness (n 22) [511]. ‘Advies Toekenning Belgische Nationaliteit’ [‘Advice on Granting Belgian Nationality’], Vlavabbs (Web Page, 2019) <https://www.vlavabbs.be/nieuws/20191218-adviestoekenning-belgische-nationaliteit> (‘Advice on Granting Belgian Nationality’). The advice itself is not public. Crown Prosecutor Antwerp, Betreft: Toepassing Art 10 WBN bij Kinderen van Palestijnen [Concerning: The Application of art 10 of the Belgian Nationality Code to Palestinians] (7 April 2019) (copy on hand with author). See eg People and Society Directorate Civil Affairs Team Kortrijk, Toepassing Art 10 WBN [Concerning art 10 of the Belgian Nationality Code] (26 February 2019) (copy on hand with author). 309