Chapter 1. Introduction considers statelessness determination and procedures to that end in more depth. What is also important to note, is that an individual is stateless according to the definition in international law “from the moment that the conditions in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention are met”.25 Finding that an individual is stateless is hence a declaratory (and not a constitutive) act. Statelessness around the world has different causes, which can manifest themselves at birth or later in the life of an individual or of entire groups of people. These causes can be generally considered to fit within one (or more) of the following categories: confl icts of nationality laws, state succession, the legacy of colonization, arbitrary and discriminatory deprivation of nationality, administrative barriers and lack of documentation, and inheritance of statelessness.26 In light of the focus of this study on Europe, the causes of statelessness are more elaborately discussed for Europe in chapter 2. The definition of statelessness used in this research follows the defi nition in the 1954 Convention and thus in principle only refers to persons who are de jure statelessness. This means that this research focuses on those who are legally stateless – without a legal bond to any state (and therefore without protection of a state). De jure statelessness can be distinguished from de facto statelessness, which refers to the situation of persons that are factually (de facto) without legal protection by a state, but do, legally speaking, have a nationality, i.e. a legal bond with a state. In a way, their nationality is thus not effective. A group that is often referred to as being de facto stateless are refugees. A specific international legal regime is applicable to them: refugee law. However, there is no international legal instrument that defines de facto statelessness nor is there an instrument that protects this category of persons or grants them a specific status.27 At the same time, the Final Act of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention)28 contains a recommendation for states to treat persons who are de facto stateless as far as possible as de jure stateless so that they may acquire an effective nationality.29 The distinction between de jure and de facto statelessness has been – and still is – a topic of discussion in literature.30 It is therefore good to be aware of this 25 26 27 28 29 30 UNHCR, ‘Handbook on the Protection of Stateless Persons under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons’ (Geneva, 2014) para 16 <www.unhcr.org/protection/ statelessness/53b698ab9/handbook-protection-stateless-persons.html> accessed 22 August 2021. ISI, The World’s Stateless (Wolf Legal Publishers 2014) 23–27 <https://www.institutesi.org/ worldsstateless.pdf> accessed 22 August 2021. UNHCR, ‘Handbook on the Protection of Stateless Persons Under the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons’ (UNHCR 2014) para 7, <www.unhcr.org/protection/ statelessness/53b698ab9/handbook-protection-stateless-persons.html> accessed 22 August 2021. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (with Final Act of the United Nations Conference on the Elimination or Reduction of Future Statelessness held at Geneva from 24 March to 18 April 1959, and Resolutions I, II, III and IV of the Conference) (adopted 30 August 1961, entered into force 13 December 1975) 989 UNTS 175 (1961 Convention). 1961 Convention and Final Act (ibid), Resolution I. Laura van Waas, Nationality Matters. Statelessness under International Law (School of Human Rights Research Series vol 29, Intersentia 2008) 19–27; Jason Tucker, ‘Questioning de facto Statelessness by Looking at de facto Citizenship’ (2014) 19 Tilburg Law Review 276; Peter Rodrigues, ‘De facto Intersentia 11