Bücken and de Groot 41 State on whose territory he is born is enshrined in Article 1 of the 1961 Convention.11 The limitation of possible scenarios which could leave a child to be stateless are further reduced by the operation of Article 2, which prescribes that a foundling should be considered to have been born within the territory of the Contracting State concerned and to be, furthermore, the offspring of parents possessing the nationality of the Contracting State. Thus, the 1961 Convention offers effective protection for foundlings who are situated in States that apply either the ius soli or ius sanguinis principle.12 Furthermore, Article 4 protects individuals born outside of the territory of a Contracting State by acquisition of nationality of a parent, if the descendant would otherwise be stateless. The Convention’s umbrella of protection is completed by Articles 5-8 which stipulates a general prohibition of ex lege loss of nationality, where this would lead to statelessness of the individual concerned. Notwithstanding the general prohibition, ex lege loss of nationality may be permitted by the Convention under two circumstances, regardless of the fact of whether the loss of nationality leads to statelessness (Article 7(4)). First, a naturalized individual may lose his nationality, if he resides for at least seven consecutive years abroad and fails to declare an intention to retain the nationality. Second, in the case of an individual born abroad, the retention of nationality may be made conditional on residence on the territory of the Contracting State before the expiration of one year after attaining the age of majority, or alternatively the registration within the same time period. Additionally, by an act of a competent authority and not ex lege, an individual may be deprived of his nationality pursuant to Article 8 (2) (b), if the nationality has been obtained by misrepresentation or fraud. Finally, Contracting States may submit a declaration to retain other grounds of deprivation of nationality, even if this leads to statelessness, pursuant to Article 8(3). The specific details of the grounds under Article 8(3) constitute the focus of this article’s analysis and will be discussed in the succeeding sections. Other provisions of the 1961 Convention include rules for the transfer of State territory (Article 10), dispute resolution mechanisms between Contracting States (Articles 11 and 14) and transitory provisions (Article 12). Furthermore, the four resolutions, which were adopted in the Final Act of the 1961 Convention, deserve to be mentioned. Most importantly, Resolution I recommends that persons who are de facto stateless should, as far as possible, be treated as de jure stateless.13 The second resolution provides for a definition of the term ‘naturalized person’ as referring to a person who has acquired nationality upon an application.14 The third resolution recommends procedural safeguards for Contracting States that make the retention of nationality for individuals residing abroad subject to a declaration and finally, the fourth resolution provides for a narrower definition of the term ‘convicted’.15 11. I. Ziemele, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 7: The Right to Birth Registration, Name and Nationality, and the Right to Know and Be Cared for by Parents (Brill, 2007), p. 15. 12. UNHCR, ‘Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness’, UNHCR (2014), http://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/ statelessness/5465c9ff9/guidelines-statelessness-nr-4-ensuring-childs-right-acquire-nationality.html. 13. For an elaborate discussion of the distinction between de jure and de facto statelessness, compare A. Brouwer, ‘Statelessness in Canadian Context’, United Nations (2012), http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/static-files/stateless ness.PDF, p. 15. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid.