Risk of Arbitrary Detention of Stateless Persons 19. Stateless persons face a heightened risk of arbitrary detention particularly where procedural safeguards to identify and determine statelessness and related barriers to removal are lacking.30 Such arbitrary detention would be in violation of Article 9 of the ICCPR, which protects the right to liberty and security of the person. The Human Rights Committee has emphasised that “the inability of a State party to carry out the expulsion of an individual because of statelessness or other obstacles does not justify indefinite detention’’.31 Slovenia is bound by the EU Returns Directive,32 which requires particular attention to be paid to the situation of vulnerable persons; and the revised EU Returns Handbook requires attention to be paid to the specific situation of stateless persons, ensuring that there is a reasonable prospect of removal prior to detaining or prolonging a person’s detention. 33 In Slovenia, there are few protections against the arbitrary detention of stateless people. Under the Constitution,34 a proportionality test must be carried out when deciding to detain, but in practice, a country of removal may not be identified prior to detaining, and alternatives to detention are not routinely considered, though they are set out in law as ‘more lenient measures’.35 Detention is only subject to independent review after the first three-month extension,36 and there are very limited remedies for an individual to challenge their detention. 37 Legal aid is not available. Statelessness is not considered a juridically relevant fact in decisions to detain and stateless people are detained in practice.38 The Right to a Nationality, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness 20. There are safeguards in Slovenian law to prevent statelessness in the case of foundlings,39 most adopted children40 and children born abroad to Slovenian parents.41 However, there are also significant gaps in existing safeguards. The safeguard in nationality law to prevent statelessness among children born in Slovenia relies on the status of the parents rather than the child. 42 The parents of a stateless child born on the territory must also be stateless (or unknown) for the child to acquire Slovenian nationality.43 If the parents are 30 ENS (2017) Protecting Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention: An Agenda for Change, https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/files/attachments/resources/ENS_LockeInLimbo_Detentio n_Agenda_online.pdf 31 General comment No.35 on Article 9, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 32 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:348:0098:0107:en:PDF 33 European Commission (2017) ANNEX to the COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION establishing a common "Return Handbook" to be used by Member States' competent authorities when carrying out return related tasks, https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/european-agendamigration/20170927_recommendation_on_establishing_a_common_return_handbook_annex_en.pdf 34 Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, Article 20 : https://www.us-rs.si/en/about-the-court/legal-basis/. 35 Articles 76 & 81, Aliens Act: http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO5761. 36 Article 79(a), Aliens Act: http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO5761. 37 Article 78, Aliens Act : http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO5761. 38 https://index.statelessness.eu/country/slovenia. 39 Article 9, Citizenship Act: http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO13. 40 Articles 18 & 23, Citizenship Act: http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO13. 41 Articles 4 & 5, Citizenship Act: http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO13. 42 Article 9, Citizenship Act: http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO13. 43 Ibid. 6