proposal pending to also incorporate the CRC into national law.48 Transformation, which is most commonly used, means that a convention, or provisions therein, are translated and transformed into Swedish legal text. However, no action is required, or taken, if the provisions in an international convention are already in compliance with Swedish law. International obligations which have not been transposed into Swedish legislation cannot be invoked before a national court. However, courts and other judicial authorities shall interpret Swedish legislation in conformity with the international conventions by which Sweden is bound (fördragskonform tolkning).49 The 2001 Act on Swedish Citizenship and the 2001 Decree on Swedish Citizenship50, including the amendments adopted since then, together with the Instrument of Government of 197451 prohibiting the deprivation of Swedish nationality from nationals who live or have lived in Sweden, form the basis for the national legal framework on nationality. However, as will be illustrated in the sections below, all provisions in the 1954 and 1961 Conventions have not been transformed into the Swedish legislation even though it is not fully in line with these conventions. 2.2 A statistical overview of the stateless population in Sweden 2.2.1 Specifics of the data used Administrative data on the stateless, or potentially stateless population in Sweden is available in two different public registers: the Swedish Population Register and the Register of the SMA. In both registers, individuals can be registered as “stateless”, as having “unknown” nationality, or as having their nationality “under investigation”. In addition to collecting taxes, the Swedish Tax Agency is responsible for managing the civil registration of private individuals living in Sweden, contained in the Population Register. The Population Register contains information about each person registered, such as their age, place of birth, citizenship, marital status, children, date of taking up residence in Sweden and address, as regulated by the Population Registration Act.52 It is through registration in the Population Register that a person obtains many of their rights, such as the child allowance. When registered in the Population Register for the first time, a person will receive their unique personal identity number, which is required in order to have full access to many of the State and private-sector services in Sweden. Generally, a person is only registered in the Population Register if they have been granted a residence permit in Sweden. According to Section 4 of the Population Registration Act, an alien shall not be registered if he or she does not have the required residence permit and if there are no other particular reasons for registering 48 The proposal, which is the result of a Government appointed inquiry into the feasibility of incorporating the CRC in national law, can be found on the Governments website, in Swedish available at: http://goo.gl/kknLFA. 49 Swedish Government webpage on human rights, brochure on human rights in Sweden, pp. 5-6, available at: http://goo.gl/VCFs6Z. 50 Medborgarskapsförordning (2001: 218), available at: https://goo.gl/CrM8j2. 51 The Instrument of Government is one of the four fundamental laws of Sweden and determines the way in which Sweden is governed. As such, it contains rules on “the realisation of democracy in Sweden and on the division of power between the Riksdag, Government, municipalities and county councils and courts. It also sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms enjoyed by the people of Sweden”. Information about the Instrument of Government in English available at: http://goo.gl/slIHVp. The full text of the Constitution is available at: http://goo.gl/p1Hkdm. 52 Folkbokföringslag (1991: 481), available at: http://goo.gl/GeGsju. UNHCR STOCKHOLM, 2016 17