Unit 6 Preventing statelessness (3): Statelessness in the context of State succession Summary This unit considers the particular challenges presented by the context of State succession for the regulation of nationality and the avoidance of statelessness. The two main types of State succession are presented: universal and partial succession. It is then shown how each type may lead to statelessness by creating potential for a conflict of laws. Through examples, students discover how the complexities and sensitivities of State-building may further increase the risk of statelessness following State succession. For instance, documentation or registration systems that were in place prior to State succession may be inaccessible or unavailable to the successor State(s), hindering the verification of a person’s claim to citizenship. Or a newly-elaborated nationality law may be discriminatory in intent or effect, perhaps reflecting ongoing distrust or animosity between different segments of the population. Turning to the international legal framework put in place to guide States through these difficult questions, the content, strengths and limitations of the relevant provision of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is discussed first. The ILC Draft Article on the nationality of natural persons in relation to the succession of States, the Council of Europe Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession and the relevant provisions of the European Convention on Nationality are then considered in detail. Students look at how the responsibility for the avoidance of statelessness is shared between predecessor and successor States. Particular attention is paid to those articles and provisions that may be considered especially innovative, including the use of the notion of “appropriate connection”, the introduction of the right of option to pre-empt disputes, the call for international consultation and cooperation, the detailed procedural safeguards outlined and the grant of nationality to persons born on the territory of a successor State when they would otherwise be stateless. Students may be asked to consider the potential for employing such norms more broadly in order to avoid statelessness arising in other circumstances. Learning objectives Explain how statelessness may arise in the context of •(different types of) State succession and what additional and describe the innovative value of some •of Recognise the standards that have recently been elaborated to factors may play a role in increasing risks of statelessness address the problem of statelessness in the context of State succession. the approach taken by the 1961 Convention •onDiscuss the Reduction of Statelessness to the prevention of statelessness in the context of State succession Readings and information sources Key readings Law Commission, “Draft Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of * International States - With Commentaries” in Yearbook of the International Law Commission, Vol. II, 1999. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4512b6dd4.html of Europe, European Convention on Nationality - Explanatory Report, Strasbourg, 1997 . * Council http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/reports/html/166.htm of Europe, Council of Europe Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession * Council Explanatory Report, Strasbourg, 2006. http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/200.htm http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/200.htm A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness 31