26 | PROTECTING STATELESS PERSONS FROM ARBITRARY DETENTION IN MALTA 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download. aspx?symbolno=CRC/C/MLT/CO/2&Lang=En UN General Assembly, Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 18 December 1979, Article 9(1). Malta acceded to this Convention on 8 March 1991. UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, 24 January 2007, Article 18. Article 16: “If the law of the State, whose nationality an illegitimate child possesses, recognises that such nationality may be lost as a consequence of a change in the civil status of the child (legitimation, recognition), such loss shall be conditional on the acquisition by the child of the nationality of another State under the law of such State relating to the effect upon nationality of changes in civil status.” League of Nations, Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Law, 13 April 1930, League of Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 179, p. 89, No. 4137, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3b00.html Government considering conventions on stateless people, Times of Malta, available at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150325/local/gover nment-considering-conventions-on-stateless-people.561372 UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 21 July 1951. Chapter 420, Laws of Malta, available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=8886&l=1 Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, available at http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying thirdcountry nationals. Common Standards and Procedures for returning Illegally Staying Third-Country Nationals (Amendment) Regulations, Legal Notice 15 of 2014, available at http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=l p&itemid=25883&l=1 Directive 2013/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international reception (recast). Ibid. Article 8. Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (recast), Article 26. Chapter 217, Laws of Malta, Article 5(1), available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=8722&l=1 Ibid. Article 5(2) Ibid. Article 14(1), (2) Aden Ahmed v. Malta App no. 55352/12 (ECtHR 9 December 2013), available at http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-122894; Suso Musa v. Malta App no. 42337/12(ECtHR 9 December 2013), available at http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-122893 Suso v. Malta, paras. 94-107; and Aden Ahmed v. Malta para. 145. Louled Massoud v. Malta, App no. 24340/08 (ECtHR 27 October 2010), available at http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-100143, para. 67. Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying thirdcountry nationals. Subsidiary Legislation 217.12, Laws of Malta Articles 11(12) and 11(13) available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=11637&l=1 Directive 2013/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international reception (recast) Article 15. Chapter 420, Laws of Malta, Article 2: “ "applicant" means a third country national or a stateless person who has made an application for 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 international protection in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken by the Commissioner or the Refugees Appeals Board;” available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid =8886&l=1. Interview with the Office of the Refugee Commissioner, 14 April 2015 and 2 June 2015. Chapter 420, Laws of Malta, Article 2: “"country of origin" means the country or countries of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former habitual residence;” available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=8886&l=1 Interview with the Assistant Refugee Commissioner, 2 June 2015. Subsidiary Legislation 217.05, Laws of Malta, article 2, defines a third country national as ‘a person who is not a citizen of a Member State’, available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=9560&l=1 Interview with official of the Immigration Police on the 23 March 2015. Constitution of Malta, available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=8566&l=1 Act No. IV of 2000 amending Chapter 188, Laws of Malta, available at http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=l p&itemid=16416&l=1 Chapter 188, Laws of Malta, Article 5: “Provided further that the preceding two provisions of this sub article shall not apply in the case of a new-born infant found abandoned in any place in Malta who would in virtue thereof be stateless, and any such infant shall remain a citizen of Malta until his right to any other citizenship is established.” Available at http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=l om&itemid=8702&l=1 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2014, 8 March 2014, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/532075964.html Chapter 188, Laws of Malta, Article 2 available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=8702&l=1 Ibid. Article 10(1). Ibid. Article 6. Interview with Sup. Int. Neville Xuereb, Immigration Police, 23 March 2015. Subsidiary Legislation 188.03, Laws of Malta, available at http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&it emid=12141&l=1 , and the ‘Individual Investor Programme of The Republic of Malta’ available at http://iip.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IIP-Brochurev1.2_updated.pdf aditus foundation, Our views on the recent amendments to Malta’s citizenship rules, 20 November 2013, available at http://aditus.org.mt/our-views-on-the-recent-amendments-tomaltas-citizenship-rules/ National Statistics Office, Malta, Demographic Review 2013, 2015, available at http://nso.gov.mt/en/publicatons/Publications_by_Unit/Documents/ C93_Population_and_Tourism_Statistics/Demographic_Review_201 3.pdf, page 81. Ibid. page 109. National Statistics Office, Malta, Population and Tourism Statistics, World Refugee day, available at http://nso.gov.mt/en/News_Releases/View_by_Unit/Unit_C3/Popula tion_and_Tourism_Statistics/Pages/World-Refugee-Day.aspx Data from the 2014 national population census conducted is not yet available. UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Malta, August 2014, p. 46 para. 171. The NSO cross-checked this data with other administrative sources.