5.2. Sources of law Once the overall framing is decided, litigators need to build their detailed legal case, including legal arguments, supporting evidence, and the remedies requested. Statelessness and nationality are created by the intersecting application of different laws. • There will usually be the need to examine a number of other national laws beyond the nationality code and constitution in order to construct a legal argument that establishes the routes by which an individual or group has become stateless, and to make recommendations for specific remedies. • Cases involving contested nationality often require analysis of the laws of another country, to show that, as a matter of fact and law, the complainants do not have the nationality of the other country. Building this evidence can be particularly demanding. • There also is a need to grasp the evolving international law principles on nationality and statelessness, if there is even the possibility of seeking relief in a regional or international court, and to make sure that the relevant factors are explored at national level and placed on the record for an appeal. • Comparative jurisprudence is also a valuable resource to demonstrate to constitutional or other apex courts that the arguments being made are—even if novel in the national setting—accepted in other jurisdictions and part of a mainstream trend and not an extravagant leap in legal reasoning. To build a solid case for strategic litigation, a team should be made up of both experienced litigators and experts on nationality and statelessness in national and international law. Any judgment will be as good as the arguments made before the judge. It is worth the investment to make sure the arguments are as good as they can be. E - Resources to find international law, comparative jurisprudence and other materials UNHCR Essential resources to assist in building a legal argument drawing on international law are the UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness, that consider the interpretation of the 1954 and 1961 statelessness conventions in light of contemporary human rights law. Guidelines No.1–3, on the definition of stateless person, on statelessness determination procedures, and the status of stateless persons at national level, are consolidated in the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons.97 They are supplemented by the Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4 on the right of children to acquire a nationality98; and the Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5 on loss and deprivation of nationality.99 These and other UNHCR resources, including “good practices” papers on addressing statelessness, are available at the Refworld page on statelessness: https://www.refworld.org/thematic-area/statelessness. The Refworld database also includes a collection of caselaw: https://www.refworld.org/cases.html Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) hosts a database on Statelessness and Human Rights, which brings together information from the international human rights monitoring systems, including all the UN treaty bodies and recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council: https://database.institutesi.org/ In addition, ISI has established the “stateless hub” which collates information & resources on statelessness and the right to a nationality, searchable by country, region or theme. https://www.statelesshub.org/ 97 Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, supra n 2. UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (Geneva: United Nations, December 2012), https://www.refworld.org/policy/legalguidance/unhcr/2012/en/105120. 98 UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Arts 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (Geneva: United Nations, May 2020), https://www.refworld.org/policy/legalguidance/unhcr/2020/en/123216. 99 U N H C R | L I T I G AT I N G T H E R I G H T T O A N AT I O N A L I T Y: A G U I D E F O R P R AC T I T I O N E R S 39