Stateless Persons Convention does not elaborate a procedure for identifying who is stateless, or how that is to be proven. Since the Convention does not provide for a supranational body to pass upon the eligibility of a person as a “stateless person,” the determination must ordinarily be made by the authorities of the country where the person resides. In that event, without actual provisions in the Convention, each state should establish appropriate procedures for determining statelessness in accordance with the general obligations of the Convention. Practical application of these procedures varies among states, with some adopting legislation that designates specific government agencies and procedures to examine and adjudicate claims of statelessness. 52 However, most countries, including those in Europe, have no specific procedure in place. Stateless persons may be obliged to channel their application through the asylum regime simply because there is no other procedure available to them. In reality, stateless persons are processed within a framework that includes humanitarian or subsidiary protection.53 To prove statelessness, the applicant would be asked to present documents that indicate her/his status, similar to the screening process for refugees.54 Stateless persons are not considered a national by any State. Therefore, in theory, it may follow that a stateless person is obliged to prove that s/he has no legal bond with any country. However, to require proof that the individual lacks the nationality of states with which s/he has no close relationship goes beyond what can be reasonably expected from an individual. As a result, requirements of proof should be limited to the countries of (former) habitual residence, birth, nationality of the parents or another country with which the person has close ties. For this purpose, documentation from the embassy or consular office of her/his country of origin or habitual residence confirming that the individual is not a national generally provide conclusive evidence.55 However, the relevant authorities of the country of origin or country of habitual residence may refuse to issue certified documents stating the person is not a national, or they may simply not reply to inquiries. 52 In France, the Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons conducts the procedure for recognizing stateless status. In Spain, the Aliens Law provides that the Ministry of Interior recognize the status of statelessness, as is also the case in Italy. Nationality and Statelessness: A Handbook for Parliamentarians, supra note 12, p.19. 53 Id., pp.19, 20. 54 See Id., pp.17-18, 20; Robinson supra note 9, Article 1, para.4; Batchelor, supra note 3, pp.174-75. 55 In Japan, the Director-General of the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice issues a certificate of nationality, including a certificate that the person in question does not posses Japanese nationality. (Kidana, supra note 3, p.64). For the present, this is the official document that certifies a person residing in Japan does not have Japanese nationality. 23