RAMADAN v. MALTA JUDGMENT 9 of any applicable readmission agreement concluded by Malta and in accordance with international obligations to which Malta may be party. (5) Nothing in this article shall preclude or prejudice the application of Maltese law on the right to asylum and the rights of refugees and of Malta’s international obligations in this regard.” 4. The Immigration Regulations 37. Subsidiary Legislation 217.04, in so far as relevant, provides the following rules: “12. (1) A third country national shall only be entitled to reside in Malta if a uniform residence permit for a specific purpose is issued in his regard. (2) The provisions of subregulation (1) shall not apply to a third country national who has been given temporary permission to reside in Malta for the purpose of the processing of an application for asylum or an application for a uniform residence permit. (3)* Without prejudice to regulation 7(3), the provisions of regulations 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 shall mutatis mutandis apply to this Part, so however that a third country national cannot apply for a licence or a uniform residence permit for the purpose of seeking or taking up employment; nor may he apply to change the nature of the uniform residence permit into one empowering him to seek or take up employment, while he is already in Malta, save as the Minister may direct in exceptional circumstances. *Not yet in force.” 38. Regulations 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 refer to residence and employment in connection with European Union citizens. 39. Regulation 12(3) has not yet come into force. It will come into force on such date or dates as the Minister may by notice in the Gazette appoint. B. International materials 1. United Nations 40. Malta is not a party to the 1954 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, nor is it a party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. A report by the United Nations Refugee Agency Office in Malta, called “Mapping Statelessness in Malta” (2014), recommended, inter alia, that Malta consider acceding to the two mentioned conventions and establishing an effective statelessness determination procedure, as well as ensuring the rights of stateless persons and awareness about statelessness among relevant Government institutions. 2. Relevant Council of Europe instruments 41. Desiring to promote the progressive development of legal principles concerning nationality, as well as their adoption in internal law, and desiring to avoid, as far as possible, cases of statelessness, the Council of Europe