W HO WE ARE SERV I N G A N D W HY NATIONAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS CHECKLIST THE FOLLOWING LAWS MAY BE RELEVANT TO NATIONALITY AND DOCUMENTATION ISSUES: 4 NATIONAL CONSTITUTION •M  ay contain principles such as nondiscrimination or equality, which you can use to argue for inclusion; some cover nationality and national identity directly. 4 NATIONALITY LAW • Identify weaknesses in the law, and what safeguards could be introduced to prevent and reduce statelessness. May include provisions related to civil status documentation and proof of nationality. 4 LAWS ON CIVIL STATUS •T  hese affect birth, death, marriage, and adoption, including their registration. • Immigration and asylum law. •R  elevant for stateless or undocumented migrants; may affect detention and deportation also. 4 CIVIL LAW OR CODE •M  ay affect civil status, family law, and housing, land, and property rights, which are often tied to nationality. 4 F  AMILY LAW OR OTHER CHILD PROTECTION LAW •S  ets out rules relating to marriage, divorce, adoption, age when you are considered an adult, and other aspects that relate to civil status documentation and confirmation of nationality. 26 | 4 DUE PROCESS STANDARDS • Covers the equal treatment of people by the law. This could be useful where discrimination curtails access to justice, including a legal identity. This may also be where the law sets time limits for certain procedures. Violations of such limits may be something your program should address. 4 ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS • May allow paralegals and communities to demand equal and fair treatment when accessing documentation or citizenship rights. 4 L  AWS RELATING TO THE PROTECTIONS OF MINORITIES • Useful if the project will serve a particular ethnic or national group, clan, caste, tribe, or other marginalized group. 4 L  AWS REGULATING SECTORS WHERE DOCUMENTATION INTERACTS WITH SERVICES •T  his might include laws on education, healthcare, social insurance, employment, and so on, particularly where these specify that certain types of legal identity documentation are required before the service can be accessed. Provisions in such laws relating to their universal nature can be invoked to ensure the undocumented or stateless are not excluded. 4 CUSTOMARY OR RELIGIOUS LAWS • These may cover marriages, deaths, divorces, births, and other civil status issues. Natural resource and land access and management, which often affect issues of nationality, may also be covered here. A C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S G U I D E : D O C U M E N T I N G C I T I Z E N S H I P A N D OT H E R F O R M S O F L E G A L I D E N T I T Y