2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(1) procedures regulating residency rights. 29 Factors to consider in setting up a procedure include administrative capacity, existing expertise on statelessness matters, as well as expected size and profile of the stateless population. In any combined procedure, it is essential that the definition of a stateless person is clearly understood and properly applied by case officers and that procedural safeguards and evidentiary standards are respected. 30 STANDARDS AND CRITERIA FOR A GOOD STATELESSNESS DETERMINATION PROCEDURES This Part lays out essential requirements for an SDP, drawing mainly from the UNHCR Statelessness Handbook, 31 reports and the summary of conclusions of the UNHCR expert meetings on SDP, 32 UNHCR guidelines on statelessness, 33 and the two Statelessness Conventions, 34 among other sources. These standards pertain to the presence of a mechanism for protection, prevention and identification of statelessness, and will be measured against specific criteria of: (a) legality and binding nature of SDP; (b) structure and location of SDP; (c) access to procedure; (d) procedural guarantees; (e) assessments of facts; (f) management of combined refugee and stateliness claims; (g) prospect for naturalisation; and (h) review and appeal of decision. The procedural guarantees and assessment of evidence will be examined in the context of the right to interview, right to an interpreter, right to legal aid, right to individual application for family members (where necessary), right to appeal and review of decision, absence of the requirement of legal residency as a basis for recognition of statelessness, length of procedure, possibility of ex officio application, and the standard and burden of proof. 29 30 31 32 33 34 Commemorating the Refugee and Statelessness Conventions – A Compilation of Summary Conclusions from UNHCR’s Expert Meetings (Summary Conclusions, UNHCR May 2012) 25 [3] (‘Commemorating the Refugee and Statelessness Conventions’). Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons (n 11) 27 [64]. ibid. Geneva Conclusions (n 25); UNHCR, Expert Meeting: Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Avoiding Statelessness resulting from Loss and Deprivation of Nationality — Summary Conclusions (Dakar, Senegal, March 2014); Commemorating the Refugee and Statelessness Conventions (n 29). UNHCR publishes a set of guidelines on statelessness on different themes, especially on the 10 action points: UNHCR Global Action Plan (n 9). 1954 Convention (n 13); Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, opened for signature 30 August 1961, 989 UNTS 175 (entered into force 13 December 1975) (‘1961 Convention’). 91