Part II. European Law on Nationality and Statelessness furthermore highlights, similar to the ECN, the importance of cooperation in childhood statelessness, including exchange of information. What is interesting, is that specific attention is paid to the administration relating to nationality matters. As was considered in paragraph 1.4.3, (stateless) people can be registered with an ‘unknown nationality’. This is also true for (stateless) children686, who should, according to the Recommendation, be registered with an ‘unknown’ or ‘undetermined’ nationality “only for as short a period as possible”.687 Also, the situation of adoption is addressed by the 2009 Recommendation, stating that revocation or annulment of adoption and consequent loss of nationality should not lead to statelessness.688 Other categories deal with nationality as a consequence of a child-parent family relationship, also trying to facilitate acquisition of nationality of children that are adopted or born out of medically assisted reproductive techniques, children born on the territory of a state to a foreign parent, the position of children treated as nationals, the rights of children in proceedings affecting their nationality, and registration of birth – given the importance of birth registration to ensuring the right to a nationality and avoiding statelessness. According to Gerard-René de Groot, scientific expert of the CJ-S-NAT at the time, this Recommendation supplements the ECN and could serve as inspiration for a protocol to the ECN on this topic. He also believes that “[t]he principles are (…) a source of inspiration for other international and regional debates on the improvement of rules avoiding and reducing cases of statelessness”.689 The CM Recommendation on the nationality of children thus presents another more specialized legal instrument in nationality matters, which has the potential to aid states in avoiding statelessness.690 As could be seen in paragraph 3.2.3, the ECHR is a relevant instrument in addressing statelessness and nationality matters. This is certainly true with regard to the issue of childhood statelessness, as ECHR jurisprudence elaborates on how the CoE instruments (collectively) understand states’ obligations with regard to jus sanguinis conferral of nationality. A key decision on nationality matters under the ECHR also relates to children and their nationality: the Genovese case.691 The case concerned the issue of discrimination of children in nationality law.692 A young British man also 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 130 ENS, ‘No Child Should be Stateless’ (ENS 2015) 17 <https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www. statelessness.eu/fi les/ENS_NoChildStateless_final.pdf> accessed 3 July 2021. Recommendation CM/Rec (2009) 13 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the nationality of children (adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 9 December 2009 at the 1073rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies), para I.8. Ibid, para I.10. Gerard-René de Groot, ‘Children, Their Right to Nationality and Child Statelessness’ in Alice Edwards & Laura van Waas (eds), Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge University Press 2014) 144–168, 158. See also ENS, ‘Mr. Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks exclusively to ENS’ (ENS Blog, 15 January 2014) <https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/news/mr-nilsmuiznieks-council-europes-commissioner-human-rights-speaks-exclusively-ens> accessed 26 May 2021. Genovese v Malta App No 53124/09 (ECHR, 11 October 2011) ECLI:CE:ECHR:2011:1011 JUD005312409. Cf William Thomas Worster, ‘The Obligation to Grant Nationality to Stateless Children Under Customary International Law’ (2019) 27 Michigan State International Law Review 441, 483. Intersentia