The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) and The AIRE Centre have filed written submissions as interveners to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Dabetić v. Italy, focusing on Contracting States’ obligations to protect stateless persons under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The submission analyses Contracting States’ obligations under Articles 8 (right to respect for private and family life), Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination), and also invites the Court to consider key provisions of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. It notes that the lack of an accessible and effective route to regularisation for stateless persons will not be justified if it is a disproportionate interference with an individual’s right to respect for private and family life, and that individuals must have a genuine possibility of accessing measures or mechanisms to regularise their status as stateless persons. The submission also analyses previous case law from the Court on this matter, in particular Hoti v. Croatia and Sudita Keita v. Hungary.
This third party submission also provides general background information regarding law, policy, and practice on statelessness determination and the protection of stateless persons in Italy, as well as an overview of common barriers faced by stateless persons across Europe in accessing effective statelessness determination procedures.
The case was brought before the European Court of Human Rights with the assistance of Open Society Justice Initiative in 2012.
