Chapter 3. The Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession The Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession (ECSS) concerns the specific topic of the avoidance of statelessness and the particular context of state succession. As such, other causes of statelessness or situations in which statelessness can arise are not addressed, and other aspects relating to state succession are not considered. According to Roland Schärer, this enabled the member states of the CoE to reach consensus on “clearly defined obligations for States Parties”.567 The Treaty was born out of the importance of avoiding statelessness – it being one of the main concerns of the international community in the field of nationality according to the preamble – and state succession being one of the principal causes of statelessness, in particular in Europe. At the same time, however, it clearly attempted to fill a gap in standard setting concerning state succession, as other international legal instruments do not address important points as regards state succession – they are too general – or are not legally binding, and statelessness in relation to state succession remained an issue.568 As such, the ECSS is another unique instrument that addresses statelessness. The Convention opened for signature on 19 May 2006 and entered into force on 1 May 2009 after ratification by three member states. As of January 2022, the ECSS has been ratified by seven member states of the CoE: Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, and Norway. Both Germany and Ukraine have signed it, but these signatures have not been followed by ratification. None of the states parties have made a declaration or reservation as regards this Convention.569 All of the states parties to the ECSS are parties to the ECN as well. The ECSS is clearly related to the ECN, as is noted in the preamble: “In order to give effect to the principles established in the European Convention on Nationality that everyone has the right to a nationality and that the rule of law and human rights, including the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality and the principle of non-discrimination, must be respected in order to avoid statelessness, […].”570 When considering the ECN in relation to the ECSS, one may remember that the ECN in fact included a number of provisions on the avoidance of statelessness and even 567 568 569 570 Roland Schärer, ‘The Council of Europe and the Reduction of Statelessness’ (2006) 25 Refugee Survey Quarterly 33, 34. Roland Schärer was Head of the Swiss Nationality Section, Federal Office for Migration, Bern, Switzerland. He was the Chair and a member of the CJ-NA. Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession (Strasbourg, 2006, CETS No. 200), Preamble. See also Ineta Ziemele, ‘State Succession and Issues of Nationality and Statelessness’ in Alice Edwards & Laura van Waas (eds), Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge University Press 2014) 217–246, 226. CoE, ‘Chart of Signatures and Ratification of Treaty 200 – Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession’ <www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/fulllist/-/conventions/treaty/200/signatures?p_auth=wylJwIfo> accessed 26 May 2021. Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession (Strasbourg, 2006, CETS No. 200), Preamble. Intersentia 109