3.1. Definition of a stateless person Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention, which stipulates that a person is stateless if they are “not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law” is binding on all States parties and is deemed part of customary international law.25 UNHCR has published extensive guidance on the interpretation of this definition, including that an assessment of statelessness should be a “mixed question of fact and law”.26 This means that the assessment should examine both the letter of the law and factual circumstances, including how the competent authorities apply the law in practice. General principles of international law establish that it is for each State to determine who are its nationals.27 The use of the term ‘de facto stateless’, to describe a person who should be considered a national in accordance with a State’s law but is not in practice recognised as a national under the operation of that law, has no basis in international law and risks permitting States to avoid their obligations towards stateless people by wrongfully excluding them from the protection of the 1954 Convention. As UNHCR has clarified, “it is the subjective position of the other State that is critical in determining whether an individual is its national for the purposes of the stateless person definition”.28 Good practice France, Greece, Moldova, and Ukraine have incorporated a definition of a stateless person in national law that is in line with the 1954 Convention. Other countries, including Italy, Belgium, Czech Republic, and Portugal have not defined the meaning of a stateless person in law, but the 1954 Convention has direct effect so this applies in domestic law. GOOD PRACTICE Incorporation of the 1954 Convention definition in French law French law explicitly refers to the 1954 Convention definition, establishing that statelessness is recognised for any person who meets the definition in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention and that the provisions of the Convention govern their treatment.29 Challenges relating to the definition of a stateless person Stateless person not defined in law Austria and Ireland have not fully incorporated the 1954 Convention into domestic legislation, even though the Convention does not have direct effect in national law, therefore there is no definition of a stateless person applicable in domestic law. The absence of a legal definition is a serious barrier for stateless people seeking protection. For example, Irish legislation contains various references to stateless persons, but the lack of a clear definition means that statelessness is only considered in an ad hoc way by the competent authorities, and there is no official guidance on how to determine or claim statelessness. Cyprus and Poland are not parties to the 1954 Convention and have not defined a stateless person in their domestic law, but there are several references to stateless persons in their legislation, which creates confusion.