SAVICKIS AND OTHERS v. LATVIA JUDGMENT international law, the citizenry of Latvia was restored in the same way as it had been determined in the Nationality Act of 1919. Accordingly, instead of granting citizenship to persons who had held citizenship prior to Latvia’s occupation, Latvia restored the rights of those persons de facto ... Consequently, the continuity of Latvia as a subject of international law was the legal grounds for not automatically granting citizenship status to a certain group of people, and it was necessary to create a special legal status for those persons who had come to Latvia during the period of occupation without acquiring any other citizenship. The granting of the status of [“permanently resident non-citizens”] to a certain group of people was the result of a complicated political compromise. Moreover, when enacting the Law “On the Status of those Citizens of the Former USSR who do not have the Citizenship of Latvia or any other State”, Latvia had also to observe international human-rights standards, which prohibit increasing the number of stateless persons ... The status of [“permanently resident non-citizens”] of Latvia cannot be equated with the status of either stateless persons or aliens, as defined in international legal instruments, as the level of rights granted to [“permanently resident non-citizens”] does not fully correspond to [those granted to persons] of either of those statuses. The status of [“permanently resident non-citizens”] is not and cannot be regarded as a variety of Latvian citizenship ... The present case does not concern long-term immigrants who arrived in the country pursuant to the provisions of a regulated immigration procedure, as happens nowadays. The majority of [“permanently resident non-citizens”] in Latvia settled in Latvian territory as a result of the immigration policy implemented by the USSR. Over the employment periods accrued outside the territory of Latvia these persons made no contribution to the Latvian economy and development. For these persons, the Latvian SSR was one corner of the USSR, where they could live and work for a shorter or longer while, thereby implementing part of the Sovietisation and Russification policy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (see the partly dissenting opinion of Judge Ziemele in the case of Andrejeva v. Latvia, paragraph 27). The Constitutional Court recognises that [“permanently resident non-citizens”] have legal ties with Latvia that are the basis for certain mutual rights and obligations. Nonetheless, the context of the State continuity is decisive, and it serves as a weighty reason justifying the difference in calculation of pensions for citizens and [“permanently resident non-citizens”]. A State that has been occupied as the result of an aggression by another State does not have the obligation to guarantee social security to persons who had travelled to its territory as the result of the immigration policy of the occupying State. This is particularly so if the erga omnes obligation not to recognise and justify breaches of international law is taken into account (see the judgment of 5 February 1970 of the International Court of Justice in the case of Belgium v. Spain (Barcelona Traction case), ICJ Reports 1970, No. 3, paragraph 33). Although the applicants do not regard the possibility of obtaining citizenship of the Republic of Latvia as proportionate, this option is open to [“permanently resident non-citizens”]. The legislature has expressed the view that the status of [“permanently resident non-citizens”] was devised as a temporary instrument, so that the persons could obtain Latvian citizenship or choose another State with which to establish legal ties ... After the acquisition of Latvian citizenship, the employment periods accrued outside the territory of Latvia would also be counted towards the length of the insurance period. Many [“permanently resident non-citizens”] have used this possibility as a means of obtaining the rights and duties stipulated with respect of citizens. However, many [“permanently resident non-citizens”] have not wished to take advantage of this possibility, for a variety of reasons. 15