STATELESSNESS DETERMINATION PROCEDURES:
TOWARDS A BESPOKE PROCEDURE FOR NIGERIA
SOLOMON OSEGHALE MOMOH, * HANNEKE VAN EIJKEN ‡ AND CEDRIC RYNGAERT ‡‡
Statelessness is a phenomenon that affects every region and almost every country of the world.
However, not very many states have mechanisms in place to identify and prevent it, and protect
stateless persons. This article ascertains international norms and best practices regarding the
establishment and operation of a Statelessness Determination Procedure (‘SDP’), and to apply
these to a future SDP in Nigeria. The requirements for an SDP are drawn from conventions, United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees instruments and state practice. In proposing an SDP for
Nigeria, in this contribution we strive for the most extensive protection for stateless persons, while
taking the particular legal and institutional framework of Nigeria into account. We conclude that
Nigeria, and in fact any state, may want to devote particular attention to standards relating to the
legality and ‘bindingness’ of the proposed SDP, to procedural access and to procedural
guarantees.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................. 87
Statelessness Determination Procedures: Definition and Purpose .......................... 88
Standards and Criteria for a Good Statelessness Determination Procedures .......... 91
A Legality and Binding Nature of SDP .......................................................... 92
B Structure and Location of SDP ................................................................... 92
C Access to Procedure ................................................................................... 93
D Procedural Guarantees ................................................................................ 94
E Assessment of Evidence and Establishment of Fact................................... 95
1
Burden of Proof .............................................................................. 96
2
Standard of proof............................................................................ 97
F
Management of Combined Refugee and Statelessness Claims .................. 98
1
Confidentiality................................................................................ 98
2
Setting up a Combined Determination Procedure .......................... 99
G Prospect for Protection and Naturalisation ................................................. 99
H Review and Appeal of Decisions.............................................................. 100
Developing an SDP for Nigeria ............................................................................ 101
A Current Legal Framework ........................................................................ 101
B Proposed Structure and Location of SDP ................................................. 103
C Proposed Access to Procedure .................................................................. 104
D Proposed Procedural Guarantees .............................................................. 105
E Proposed Method for Assessment of Evidence and
Establishment of Fact ............................................................................... 107
F
Management of Combined Refugee and Statelessness Claims ................ 107
G Prospect of Protection and Naturalisation ................................................ 108
H Proposed Review and Appeal of Decisions .............................................. 109
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 110
*
‡
‡‡
PhD Researcher, Public International Law, Utrecht University, RENFORCE Research
Programme.
Assistant Professor of EU law, RENFORCE and UCERF research programmes.
Professor of Public International Law, Utrecht University, RENFORCE research programme.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect
the opinions or views of the UNHCR.