further dictate the manner in which these provisions are to be implemented.16 According to UNHCR’s guidance, these general principles in the context of children’s right to a nationality entail that a child should acquire a nationality at birth or as soon as possible after birth and no child should be left stateless for an extended period of time.17 16) Despite these international obligations, Ukrainian Law only allows registration of children born to at least one documented parent. While the principle of jus soli applies in Ukraine – meaning that children born on the territory should be recognised as citizens, regardless of whether the parents are citizens or not - it requires legal residence and documentation as a pre-requisite to granting nationality. Furthermore, Art. 144 of the Family Code of Ukraine also imposes an obligation to register a birth of the child within a month of the birth. Late registrations are penalised with a fine under Art. 212-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses. 17) In addition to increasing the risk of childhood statelessness, the penalisation of late birth registration also undermines the right to private life protected under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. According to the European Court of Human Rights, laws which aim to penalise parents, also “affect the children themselves, whose right to respect for private life […] is substantially affected. Accordingly, a serious question arises as to the compatibility of that situation with the child’s best interests, respect for which must guide any decision in their regard.”18 18) The primary legislation on the procedure of birth registration is the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Civil Status Acts” № 2398-VI of July 01, 2010, and the Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine “On adopting the Rules for the state registration of acts of civil status in Ukraine” № 52/5 of October 18, 2000. The latter act lists the prerequisites for birth registration in Ukraine, including the requirement of documentation of at least one parent of a child, without which the birth registration is impossible. This provision means that the children of undocumented parents cannot get documentation themselves – in contravention of CRC Article 7. The lack of documentation may later result in the child’s statelessness. The only way around this under the present legal framework, is for the undocumented parent to first apply to establish his/her citizenship and get documentation. However, it is often impossible to do so, and the obstacles to documentation will be addressed later in this submission. 19) Another prerequisite for birth registration is a medical certificate confirming the fact of a child’s birth, or in the case of a birth outside of a medical institution, a document issued by specially established medical and consultative commission (Art. 13 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Civil Status Acts”). In the absence of any medical proof of the child’s birth, a court decision is required to register the birth of the child. The costs, access to lawyers and supporting evidence required to make such court applications make this process inaccessible to many. 20) Cumulatively, these provisions make birth registration inaccessible to some of the most vulnerable persons in Ukraine, including the Roma and asylum seekers. They also undermine the right of every child to acquire Ukrainian nationality, in contradiction to Ukraine’s international obligations under the 1961 Convention, the ECN and the CRC. 16 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 2 and 3 17 UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 21 December 2012, HCR/GS/21/04. 18 European Court of Human Rights, Mennesson v. France, Application No. 65192/11, 26 June 2014, para 99. 6