Mai Kaneko-Iwase, Ph.D. (Law) Informally adopted children: Even in the contemporary era, children who have been cared for by strangers after having been informally ‘adopted’ without legal process continue to be observed in industrialised countries such as Spain,89 the United States,90 Malaysia91 and Japan.92 These cases tend to occur in situations of unknown parentage at relatively older ages, as in the Spanish and Italian cases discussed in section IV.G. Undocumented Parentage: Persons whose parentage ends up being undocumented have been recognised as being of unknown parents in countries such as Spain93 and Japan.94 In some of these cases, nationality has been confirmed for persons who have been cared for by their (presumed) biological parents whose identity could not be proven, or the parentage could not be established due to the parents’ death or other factors. In Côte d’Ivoire, with the once-estimated 300,000 children of unknown parents, a number of them have likely become stateless due to informal adoption (category [iv] as noted above) and undocumented parentage (category [v]), including after having been orphaned. Some have been confirmed as having nationality under the Circular issued in 2019 by the Ministry of Justice and the direct application of Article 2 of the 1961 Convention.95 Persons Who Suffer Memory Loss or Are Mentally Disabled Whose Parents Cannot be Identified: In Albania, the registration rules applicable to children of unknown parents found in the territory apply to: ‘children with unknown parents who suffer memory loss or are mentally disabled and cannot be identified (…)’ 96 who then acquired Albanian nationality.97 Further, the said registration rules also apply to ‘an adult person who has lost his/her memory, are [sic] mentally disabled, is found with a deceased parent or unidentified parent (…)’.98 In Japan, some cases of individuals who suffer memory loss as to their own identity, including parentage, have been confirmed as Japanese nationals based on the foundling provision.99 While the person can even be found when an adult, presumption can be made for having been born in the territory or having been found during childhood based on the persons’ account. From the brief review of the categories of cases granted nationality based on foundling provisions around the world, two conclusions can be drawn. First, the term ‘a child of unknown parents’ does not necessarily mean that the parents are factually unknown; rather, it essentially means the parents are legally unknown. This means there exists either no legally recognised parent for the person concerned, or a legal parent(s) is supposed to exist, but such existence cannot be proven. Especially in cases of anonymous birth or babies left behind in hospitals, or informally adopted children, there are often fragments of evidence available as to the identity of a biological parent. However, even if the parent(s) are factually known (to some extent), it is impossible to acquire or confirm nationality under nationality law unless the existence of a legally recognised parent is proven.100 Second, while in most typical cases, foundlings can be found as babies or young children, in some more atypical 89 See, for example, the DGRN resolution June 2005 (n 2). 90 Chris Nugent and Doug Burnett of the Holland & Knight Community Services Team, ‘The Foundling Statute’ (23 January 2007) <https://www.ilw.com/articles/2007,0123-nugent.shtm>. 91 Federal Court Judgment, Civil Appeal No. 01(f)-35-11/2020(W) of 19 November 2021. 92 See the cases including Kagetsu Vol 36, No 7, p 82 [29 June 1983 (Showa 58 nen)] (Tokyo High Court) and more recent unpublished adjudication in May 2023 discussed in sec 4.3.5, Kaneko-Iwase, Nationality of Foundlings (n 2) 129-137. 93 See e.g. a DGRN decision in Spain. Res. DGRN de 9 de agosto de 1993 (188) (BIMJ, núm. 1685, 1993, pp. 4645–8; RAJ, 1993, núm.6899). 94 See, for example, Nagoya Family Court, Adjudication, Unpublished [23 April 2021 (Reiwa 3 nen)]. Author wishes to thank Attorney Fumie Azukizawa for sharing the adjudication. 95 UNHCR Cote d’Ivoire Report on Statelessness 2023 (2024) 4 <https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/107563>. 96 Article 49 (4) of Albania’s Law No 10129 on Civil Status (5 November 2009). 97 Article 8(1) of the Law on Albanian Nationality provides nationality grant to a child of unknown parents born or found in the territory. 98 Except when the person speaks only a foreign language, where he/she will be registered as a stateless person’. Article 49(6) of Law on Civil Status No 10129 (5 November 2009). 99 Among them, a well-known case was 46 years of age when he was confirmed a Japanese national (although the presumption was made that he was born in Japan). Adjudication, Kagetsu Vol 41, No 4, p 82 [7 October 1988 (Showa 63 nen)] (Mito Family Court). 100 See detailed discussion on the meaning of unknown-ness in sec 4.4 of Kaneko-Iwase, Nationality of Foundlings (n 2) 158-160. 23 Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies