of documentation, including identity documents and proof of birth from the hospital. In the case of a child born outside a health institution whose place and date of birth cannot be determined, a non-contentious court procedure may be initiated to determine the relevant facts about the time and place of birth, parents and other relevant data.46 The non-contentious procedure may be initiated by the person whose time and place of birth is to be determined, the person who has an immediate legal interest for such determination, a state body (centre for social care) or by other persons who may also report birth out of health institutions in accordance with the Law on Civil Records.47 The court must hear at least two adult witnesses in the procedure and a medical examination to determine age may be requested.48 Civil society organisations have reported that, in practice, after the court has issued a decision to register the child, birth registration is not automatic and parents may be asked to submit additional evidence.49 32. Montenegrin law does not have any guidance on how to determine the child's nationality status at birth or later. In Montenegro, the birth certificate contains a field for the child’s nationality, but, in practice, parents must initiate the registration of the child's nationality in the nationality registry and sometimes authorities record a presumed nationality without confirming whether the child has acquired it. 50 Further, bureaucratic barriers exist to registering a child’s birth if the parents are undocumented, particularly if they are not receiving support or advice from an NGO. Some families have reportedly not registered the births of their children because they thought they needed documentation or evidence that they did not have. 33. Such complex bureaucratic barriers to birth registration, when combined with antigypsyism and marginalisation, have a disproportionate impact on Roma and Egyptian communities in Montenegro, as evidenced by lower overall birth registration rates among these populations. Although the law specifies that births can be registered even if the identity of parents is unknown or unconfirmed by documents,51 in practice this is not always the case.52 34. There is generally a lack of training for public officials on antigypsyism and specific issues faced by Roma and Egyptian communities, as well as a prevalence of stereotypical attitudes and distrust, which further hinder equal access to birth registration.53 46 Law on Non-Contentious Procedure, Section II Chapter 3 (arts. 70a-70i), Official Gazette of Montenegro, no. 27/2006. Law on Non-Contentious Procedure, Section II Chapter 3 (arts. 70a-70i), Official Gazette of Montenegro, no. 27/2006. 48 For more information, see ENS, Statelessness Index - Montenegro at: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/montenegro. 49 Information gathered through Phiren Amenca’s casework. 50 For more information see ENS, Statelessness Index - Montenegro at: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/montenegro. 51 Law on Vital Registers, Official Gazette of Montenegro, No. 047/08, 041/10, 040/11, 055/16 of 17 August 2016, Art. 18, para. 3. 52 Information gathered through casework by Civil Alliance. For more information see ENS, Statelessness Index - Montenegro at: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/montenegro. 53 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, European Network on statelessness and European Roma Rights Centre, Roma Belong - Statelessness, discrimination and marginalisation of Roma in the Western Balkans and Ukraine, October 2017, available at: https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/files/attachments/resources/roma-belong.pdf. 47 9