date of the succession;
–– a successor State should not attribute its nationality to persons whose habitual
residence was in another State against the will of the persons concerned
unless they would otherwise become stateless;
–– States concerned should consider the will of persons concerned whenever
those persons are qualified to acquire the nationality of two or more States.
Each concerned State shall grant the right to opt for nationality of that State
to persons who have appropriate connections with that State if those persons
would otherwise become stateless; and
–– States concerned shall not deny concerned persons the right to retain or
acquire a nationality or the right of option to a nationality through discrimination
on any grounds.
•
The ECN and the 2006 Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of
Statelessness in relation to State Succession (CoE Convention) incorporate the
provisions found in the 1961 Convention and many of the principles contained
in the ILC articles. The ECN devotes a whole chapter to state succession and
nationality, highlighting four main principles:
–– the link between the person concerned and the State;
–– the habitual residence of the person concerned at the time of succession;
–– the will of the person concerned; and
–– the territorial origin of the person concerned.
In addition, the ECN stipulates that non‑nationals of a predecessor State who
are habitually resident in the territory over which sovereignty is transferred to
a successor State, and who have not acquired the nationality of the successor
State, should have the right to remain in that State and enjoy the same social and
economic rights as nationals.
•
The CoE Convention developed specific rules of proof (Article 8) concerning
nationality in cases of State succession:
“A successor State shall not insist on its standard requirements of proof necessary
for the granting of its nationality in the case of persons who have or would become
stateless as a result of State succession and where it is not reasonable for such
persons to meet the standard requirements.
A successor State shall not require proof of non‑acquisition of another nationality
before granting its nationality to persons who were habitually resident on its
territory at the time of the State succession and who have or would become
stateless as a result of the State succession.”
Paragraph one of Article 8 considers the situation in which it is impossible or very difficult
for a person to fulfil the standard requirements of proof to meet the conditions for the
acquisition of nationality. In some cases, it might be impossible for a person to provide
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