Slovenia Statelessness Study

Intitut za sodobne drubene in politine tudije Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies
Mirovni intitut
The Peace Institute
A Study and Comparison of National Legislation in Slovenia and International Standards Related to Statelessness
Report by Dr. Nea Kogovek alamon, Head of Project Peace Institute Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies
January 2012
Table of Contents
List of National Laws................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction and Methodology ................................................................................................... 5
I.
Mapping Existing Legislation in Slovenia to Determine Rights Accorded to Stateless Persons Compared with Other Legal Statuses ................................................. 7 I.1 Aliens Act ........................................................................................................................... 7 I.2 Other Relevant Slovenian Legislation............................................................................... 11 I.3 tatelessness as a Result of Succession Policies Following S the Dissolution of Yugoslavia ........................................................................................... 20
II. Comparing Existing Legislation with UN Conventions and Other International Instruments while Identifying Existing Gaps .................................................................... 22 II.1 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons ....................................... 22 II.2 Other International Instruments Granting Rights to Stateless Persons .......................... 35 . II.3 Consistency Between Treaties Referring to the Right to Nationality and National Law ..... 37
III. Evaluation of Obstacles Hindering Slovenia from Becoming a Party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness ................................................ 39 I II.1 onsistency Between the Convention on the Reduction of C Statelessness and National Law .................................................................................... 39 III.2 Response of Relevant National Authorities and Experts ............................................... 50 . III.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 50 .
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List of National Laws

Name of the Act Act Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment Act Regulating the Realisation of the Public Interest in the Field of Culture Aliens Act Aviation Act Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act Copyright and Related Rights Act Decision on the abolition of visa requirement for recognized refugees, stateless persons and holders of travel documents issued by the third countries listed in Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, Annex II Elementary School Act Employment and Work of Aliens Act Employment Relationship Act Financial Social Assistance Act Free Legal Aid Act General Administrative Procedure Act Gimnazije Act Health Care and Health Insurance Act Higher Education Act Housing Act International Protection Act Publication details Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 50/2004 and 61/2007 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 96/2002 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 50/2011 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 18/2001 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 1I/1991 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 21/1995 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 19/2010
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 12/1996 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 26/2011 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 42/2002 and 103/2007 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 61/2010 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 48/2001 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 80/1999 and subsequent modifications Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 12/1996 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 9/1992 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 67/1993 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 69/2003 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 111/2007 and subsequent amendments
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Name of the Act Labour Market Regulation Act Maritime Code Marriage and Family Relations Act
Publication details Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 80/2010 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 26/2001 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia No. 15/1976 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 7/2003 and subsequent modifications Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 97/2001 and subsequent modifications Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 106/1999 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 20/2006 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 56/1999 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 86/2004 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 9/1999 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 73/2004 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 37/2003 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 14/2007 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 12/1996 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 54/1992 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 65/2005 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 65/2005 and subsequent amendments Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 79/2006
Minor Offences Act Parental Protection and Family Benefit Act Pension and Disability Insurance Act Personal Name Act Private International Law and Procedure Act Post-secondary Vocational Education Act Reciprocity Act Recognition and Evaluation of Education Act Register of Deaths, Births and Marriages Act Religious Freedom Act Rules on Secondary School Enrolment Social Security Act Temporary Protection of Displaced Persons Act The Registration of a Same-Sex Civil Partnership Act Vocational Education Act
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Introduction and Methodology

The study was procured by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Regional Representation Office Budapest in 2011. The research and drafting of the report was conducted between 1 December 2011 and 13 January 2012. In the process of the preparation of the study the following objectives were pursued: I. o map the existing legislation in the Republic of Slovenia to determine the rights accorded T to stateless persons in comparison with other statuses; II. o compare the existing legislation with the 1954 UN Convention Relating to the Status T of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and other international instruments and identify existing gaps; and III. o evaluate the obstacles that are hindering Slovenia from becoming a party to the 1961 T Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention) and to develop suggestions and recommendations on possible advocacy activities that could be undertaken by UNHCR and other stakeholders.
In order to achieve these objectives, several methodological steps were undertaken. To prepare the first part of the study the first question that was addressed was whether the national legal system addresses the situation of stateless people, and if yes, in what manner. For this purpose all provisions containing direct or indirect references to statelessness were identified in the Slovenian legislation. Further, the authors analysed if these provisions provide preferential or less favourable treatment of stateless people compared to other individuals. The aim was to find out whether there are specific rights awarded to stateless individuals, and if not, in which other categories stateless people fall. The research methods, which were mostly comprised of desk research tools, included research using the following sources of data: egislation databases (Law Register http://zakonodaja.gov.si, National Assembly databases L http://www.dz-rs.si/wps/portal/Home/ and commercial database Ius Info http://www.ius-software.si/); ase law databases (Supreme Court database www.sodnapraksa.si, Constitutional Court C database http://www.us-rs.si/odlocitve/iskalnik-po-odlocitvah/ and commercial database Ius Info http://www.ius-software.si/); and urisprudence databases (Cooperative Online Bibliographic System & Services J http://www.cobiss.si/cobiss_eng.html, Law Journal Pravna Praksa database, and commercial database Ius Info http://www.ius-software.si/).
The research utilized the above databases by applying key words or phrases connected to statelessness (the Slovenian translations of statelessness are apatrid, apatridnost, apatriden, apatridna, brezdravljanskost, brezdravljanstvo, brez dravljanstva). In order to ensure the correct use of the study, the study provides definitions of different types of statelessness as well as the relationship between statelessness and the erasure from the register of permanent residence (a type of deprivation of legal status that occurred in Slovenia in 1992).
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Following completion of the first part of the study, the second part focused on comparing the findings with the international standards contained in the 1954 Convention, which the Socialist Federal Republic (SFR) Yugoslavia had previously ratified and Slovenia became party to by succession. In addition, research results were compared to the provisions of the 1997 European Convention on Nationality and other international legal instruments that concern the prevention of statelessness. The study compared the national provisions with the international standards in reverse order; in other words, for each international standard, a counterpart provision was identified in the national law. If linguistic assessment of accordance of the national provisions with the international standard was not possible, legal interpretation methods were used (historical, systemic, teleological, intra legem, contra legem, etc.). In the last part of the study, the provisions of the 1961 Convention was compared with the national law provisions in order to identify the gaps between them, and through this analysis, possible hindrances to Slovenia acceding to the Convention were identified. The reasons for the lack of accession were checked with the relevant ministries (the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), as well as with experts in the field of citizenship and international law (Dr. Felicita Medved, Prof. Matej Accetto and Dr. Vasilka Sancin).
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I. Mapping Existing Legislation in Slovenia to Determine Rights Accorded to Stateless Persons Compared with Other Legal Statuses
I.1 Aliens Act
The Aliens Act stipulates procedures and rules for processing and keeping personal data of aliens, conditions for approving or refusing entry to aliens, issuing visas, temporary and permanent residence permits and permission to remain (a type of toleration status), allowing aliens to leave the country, granting powers to individual State bodies, issuing identity cards, passports and other documents to aliens and integrating aliens. The new Aliens Act which is examined in this section of the study has been in force since 28 October 2011. The provisions discussed in the study have not changed substantially in comparison with the old Aliens Act. According to Article 3, the Aliens Acts provisions are applicable to all aliens, including stateless individuals, except where expressly stated otherwise. The only groups of persons excluded from the scope of the law are asylum seekers and persons being granted international protection or temporary protection (see Section I.2.2). The Act also contains several provisions that directly refer to statelessness. Furthermore, the Act contains provisions that govern obtaining a residence permit in Slovenia. These provisions, while not expressly referring to stateless individuals, represent key provisions in determining the rights stateless individuals can access in Slovenia.
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 50/2011 and subsequent amendments.
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I.1.1 Provisions Containing Direct or Indirect Reference to Statelessness

Article 2 of the Aliens Act defines a stateless person as:
A stateless person shall be an alien who is not deemed to be a national of any country in accordance with the legal acts of individual countries. The 1954 Convention defines a stateless person as a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. Under this Convention, its law does not only mean legislation, but also ministerial decrees, regulations, orders, judicial case law (in countries with a tradition of precedent) and, where appropriate, customary practice.2 A comparison of the Convention definition with the definition in the Aliens Act raises a question as to whether they are in compliance, i.e. whether the term legal acts restricts the recommended interpretation of the term its law as contained in the 1954 Convention. According to the UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness, the term legal acts seems to be narrower than its law, as the former does not necessarily cover sources of law such as customary practice. In view of the definition cited above, another important question that arises is how a person can prove he/she is a stateless person. It would be appropriate to interpret this definition in a way which would require information on law from other states, but only from states with which a person has ties, such as the country of his/her birth, the country of the nationality of his/her parents or the country of his/her last permanent or habitual residence. Article 3(2) states that the provisions of the Convention (and not the provisions of the Aliens Act) shall apply to stateless persons when this is more favourable to them. Article 3(3) contains another important provision concerning stateless individuals:
In the event that the principle of reciprocity is required to be exercised by law with respect to aliens/citizens of other countries, stateless persons may be exempt from this principle if they have resided in the Republic of Slovenia for a minimum of three years.
This is a general provision that does not only affect the provisions of the Aliens Act but all provisions in Slovenian law relating to stateless individuals, for example, provisions relating to access to education (e.g. stateless people are exempt from the principle of reciprocity regarding access to secondary education if they have resided in Slovenia for three years or more). However, while this provision allows an exemption from the principle of reciprocity, which is essential for the stateless to exercise equal access to rights as foreign nationals, the legal requirement of a three-year residence in Slovenia may often prove to be impossible for a stateless person to meet.
U NHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 1. The definition of Stateless Person in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, HCR/GS/12/01, 20 February 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4f4371b82.pdf
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Article 73 regulates the permission to remain, a permission granted to an alien who would otherwise be removed to temporarily remain in Slovenia. This permission is not a residence entitlement but only protects an individual from deportation. The Article lists situations in which the permission to remain is granted, including three situations that relate to stateless individuals:
- if the alien does not have and cannot acquire a valid travel document from his/her country of nationality. - if his/her country of nationality or the country where a stateless person last had his/her residence is not ready to accept him/her. - if removal is not possible, because of circumstances that do not permit his/her return, such as natural and other disasters in the country of nationality of the alien or the country where a stateless person last had his/her residence.
In this way a stateless person, just like a foreign national, can be granted permission to remain in Slovenia. Besides the non-removal per se, permission to remain entitles an alien to a limited scope of rights including emergency medical care, financial social assistance3 and the right to free elementary school education for minors. According to Article 76(6) the same rights are also guaranteed to aliens who are detained in the Centre for Foreigners (except that instead of financial social assistance they are provided basic care at the Centre). Another important provision for stateless individuals is Article 98 which concerns issuing an aliens passport:
1)
An alien who is in possession of a residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia may be issued an aliens passport if: - the person concerned is stateless; - the person does not have and cannot acquire a valid travel document from his/her country of nationality.
2) ...
An aliens passport may also be issued to other aliens who do not have a valid travel document, if well-founded reasons exist for this.
The condition possession of a residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia included in this provision will rarely be met when it comes to stateless individuals as one of the requirements for a residence permit is a valid passport, which by definition is difficult for stateless persons to obtain. The provision seems to allow an aliens passport to be issued even to a person who does not have a residence permit in Slovenia, providing well-founded reasons exist. However, in practice, passports are not issued on these legal grounds. Requests for aliens passports lodged by stateless individuals without a residence permit in Slovenia have not yet been approved.
T he right of financial social assistance for persons with permission to remain has been introduced by the new Aliens Act and did not exist in previous legislation.
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I.1.2 Provisions on Obtaining a Residence Permit in the Republic of Slovenia

The provisions for obtaining a residence permit in Slovenia are of extreme importance for stateless individuals in Slovenia, since most Slovenian laws accord rights only to those aliens who hold a residence permit. An alien who is not in possession of a residence permit in accordance with the Aliens Act cannot seek employment, has limited access to education, cannot apply for Slovenian citizenship and is excluded from most other rights. For stateless individuals the most important dichotomy in Slovenian legislation is therefore not between provisions regarding stateless individuals and foreign nationals, but between provisions regarding aliens with residence permits and those without. Stateless persons are mostly excluded from acquiring residence permits in Slovenia, and are therefore excluded from the rights available to the majority of aliens in Slovenia. According to Article 33(3) and (4) every alien who wishes to obtain a residence permit in Slovenia has to meet the following requirements: ossession of a valid travel document, p ppropriate health insurance, a ufficient means of subsistence during his/her residence in the country or other guarantees s that his/her livelihood will be provided, and ny other conditions which pursuant to the Aliens Act are required to be fulfilled for issuing a individual types of residence permits.
The problem with this provision is that the requirement of a valid travel document will in practice exclude most stateless individuals. Stateless individuals will very rarely be in possession of a valid passport or other travel document. This will only occur if a stateless person was issued an aliens passport in another country (which is rare) or if an aliens passport was issued to him/her by the Slovenian authorities (which does not happen in practice). Article 33(6) should also be mentioned with regard to this issue. The provision states:
A residence permit, except for the first temporary residence permit, may be issued to an alien, who does not have and cannot obtain a travel document of his country of origin, if his/her identity is uncontested.
While this provision does indeed present an exemption from the requirement for a valid travel document, it is in fact only applicable to persons who have already acquired a residence permit in Slovenia and wish to have it renewed/extended. The first residence permit for an alien in Slovenia is by definition a first temporary residence permit, which is, as we can see from the cited paragraph, excluded from the scope of the exemption. The following example shows how a stateless person, who does not have a valid passport, is in practice excluded from acquiring a residence permit in Slovenia. His/her only chance is to first apply for an aliens passport; however, even this is unsuccessful in practice. A. B. was illegally erased from the Slovenian registry of permanent residence on 26 February 1992. The erasure of people from the registry of permanent residence and depriving them of their legal status was a measure not foreseen in the national legislation neither before nor after the independence. After being deported from Slovenia several times A.B. finally settled in Germany
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under a Duldung status (a temporary suspension of deportation). Finally, in October 2010 he again received his permanent residence status in Slovenia. However, the residence status was only recognized for him personally and not for his family that he had established while abroad. His wife (originally from Kosovo) and children (born in Slovenia and Germany) were all stateless. Since their Duldung status in Germany would soon expire, their only chance for a normal life was to move to Slovenia where A. B. had a residence permit. In order for the family to be able to moved to Slovenia together, the wife and children started procedures with Slovenian authorities to receive residence permits in Slovenia on the grounds of family reunification. Since a valid travel document is a prerequisite for a residence permit on any grounds and the applicants were stateless and without passports, they applied at the same time for both residence permits and for an aliens passport. Both residence permits and aliens passports are mutually dependent to get a residence permit, one must have a valid passport and vice versa. Even though the law foresees issuing aliens passports to stateless persons who do not have residence permits, this has not yet occurred in practice.
I.2 Other Relevant Slovenian Legislation

This section identifies Slovenian legislation from various areas which govern the rights and obligations of aliens. The legislation is examined from the point of view of the specific situation of stateless persons. Particular attention is given to provisions that differentiate between stateless persons and other aliens and those that differentiate between aliens with a residence permit and those without.
I.2.1 Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act
Article 4 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act (Citizenship Act) states:
A child shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin: 1. if the childs father and mother were citizens of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth; 2. if one of the parents was citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth and the child was born on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia; 3. if one of the parents was citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth and the other was unknown or of unknown citizenship or without citizenship and the child was born in a foreign country. In accordance with Article 4.2 citizenship is granted by operation of law to a child born on the territory of Slovenia if one of his parents is a Slovenian citizen. If the other parent is stateless, the requirement for the child to be born on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia is dropped and he/ she obtains citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia regardless of the country of the childs birth (paragraph 3).
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 1I/1991 and subsequent amendments.
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If, however, a child is born abroad to a Slovenian national and a foreign national, the child must be registered in Slovenia in order to acquire Slovenian nationality, as set out in Article 5:
A child born in a foreign country, whose one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth and the other is a foreign citizen, shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin, if the child is registered as a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia before the age of 18 years, or if the child actually permanently settles in the Republic of Slovenia before the age of 18 years with the parent, who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia. The registration under the preceding paragraph shall not be necessary if the child would otherwise remain stateless. The child can be registered as a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia by the parent, who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia. If the child is under guardianship because he does not have any parents, or the have the parents had their parental rights taken away or have been incapacitated, the childs guardian, who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia, can register the child with the consent of the Centre for Social Security.
If certain additional conditions are met, a person may register for Slovenian citizenship even after the age of 18 years but prior to the age of 36 years (Article 6):
Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia shall also be acquired by a person, born in a foreign country, who is older than 18 years, if he declares for the registration into citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia prior to reaching the age of 36 years, provided that the following two conditions are met: 1. that since his birth until the given declaration one of the parents was a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia or that he was citizen of the Republic of Slovenia until he died if he died before the given declaration, 2. that after reaching the age of 18 the persons citizenship was not revoked on the basis of release, renunciation or deprivation.
As we can see above, Article 5 contains a specific provision (paragraph 2) that allows a person without citizenship to obtain Slovenian nationality even if the requirements for registration from paragraph 1 are not met. This Act contains another provision to prevent statelessness (Article 9, paragraph 1):
A child born or found on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia of unknown parentage or whose parents are of unknown citizenship or have no citizenship at all shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia.
Furthermore this Act allows stateless individuals to obtain citizenship through naturalization. The general provision for naturalization is Article 10, which defines several requirements that need to be met before the competent authority may within its discretion admit a person to the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, if this is in accordance with the national interest.
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Under Article 10.1.2 the person petitioning for citizenship must prove that he/she renounced his/ her previous citizenship. However, paragraph 2 of the same Article specifically states that if a person is stateless, this requirement is considered fulfilled. The law concerning naturalization is also more lenient towards stateless persons than aliens because it requires the person to have lived in Slovenia for a certain period of time. The general requirement is a period of 10 years, of which the last five years prior to the petition for citizenship must be without interruption (paragraph 1.3). However, according to Article 12.8, this may be shortened for a stateless person who has continuously lived in Slovenia for just five years prior to the petition for citizenship. However, both Article 10.1.3 and Article 12.8 state that the person petitioning for citizenship needs to hold an alien status. While the terminology is not in line with the Aliens Act, it is clear that alien status refers to holding a residence permit. As has already been presented, a stateless person will usually not be able to obtain any kind of residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia. This means that in practice a stateless person will almost never be able to acquire Slovenian nationality through naturalization.
I.2.2 International Protection Act and Temporary Protection of Displaced 6 Persons Act
The International Protection Act does not discriminate between asylum seekers who are foreign nationals and stateless persons. The provisions of this Act are the same for both groups of persons. The only difference is in the provisions where this Act refers to a country of citizenship. In these provisions the Act specifically states that for persons who are stateless, instead of the country of citizenship, the country of habitual residence is relevant. The fact that a person is stateless can of course also be grounds (or partial grounds) for being awarded international protection; however, the International Protection Act does not contain any specific reference to this fact. The same general provisions regarding grounds for international protection are used when a person is seeking protection due to statelessness. If a person is granted international protection in Slovenia he/she is entitled to residence, health care, social assistance, education, employment and other rights. In this way a stateless person who meets the criteria set out in the International Protection Act and is successful in obtaining international protection can avoid the gaps in Slovenian legislation that prevent a stateless person access to a residence permit and consequently, access to social and other rights. Similar to the International Protection Act, the Temporary Protection of Displaced Persons Act, which transposes Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 20017 into the Slovenian legal order, also does not differentiate between citizens of third countries and persons without citizenship.
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Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 111/2007 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 65/2005. C ouncil Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof.
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I.2.3 Employment and Work of Aliens Act
This is the main law that governs the right to work for aliens in Slovenia. The law does not make any direct reference to persons who are stateless. It also does not make any rights conditional on whether a person holds a citizenship (except in terms of preferential treatment of EU nationals and nationals of the European Economic Area and Switzerland). However, Article 6(7) states:
Aliens, who are employed or conduct work in the Republic of Slovenia, must possess a residence status in accordance with the law governing residence of aliens in the Republic of Slovenia.
Therefore, a residence permit in accordance with the Aliens Act is a prerequisite for obtaining a work permit in Slovenia. This excludes the majority of persons who are stateless.
I.2.4 Elementary School Act

Article 10 of this law states:
Children, who are foreign nationals or persons without citizenship and reside in the Republic of Slovenia, have the right to mandatory elementary school education under equal conditions as citizens of the Republic of Slovenia.
This means that the right to free elementary school education is also guaranteed for minors who have the permission to remain status in accordance with Article 73 of the Aliens Act. Furthermore, Article 8(2) of the Elementary School Act sets out some special provisions regarding students who are not native Slovenian speakers:
For children who reside in the Republic of Slovenia and whose mother language is not Slovenian, lectures of Slovenian language and culture and, with cooperation of their countries of origin, also lectures in their mother tongue and culture are organized at the time of entry into the school.
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Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 26/2011. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 12/1996 and subsequent amendments.
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I.2.5 Gimnazije Act , Vocational Education Act and Rules on Secondary School 12 Enrolment
Access to free education for foreign nationals at both types of high schools in Slovenia gimnazije and vocational schools - is subject to the principle of reciprocity (Article 9(4) of the Gimnazije Act and Article 7(4) of the Vocational Education Act). According to Article 3(3) of the Aliens Act (see Section I.1.1) stateless persons may be exempt from the principle of reciprocity if they have resided in Slovenia for a minimum of three years. It should be mentioned that both acts in the mentioned Articles use the term foreign nationals. However, considering the cited provision of the Aliens Act, this should not prevent stateless persons from entering high schools in Slovenia. Every year secondary schools publish a public invitation regarding places available in secondary educational programs. According to Article 3 of the Rules on Secondary School Enrolment, students eligible for these places are Slovenian nationals, Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship, EU nationals, nationals of countries with which Slovenia concluded international agreements on education under the principle of reciprocity, and persons who have the right to secondary education according to the rules on asylum, temporary protection of displaced persons or aliens. Other foreigners (which would include stateless persons who do not fall within any of these categories) may enroll in programs where places are still available after the enrolment of people from the stated categories.
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I.2.6 Post-secondary Vocational Education Act and Higher Education Act
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Similarly to secondary education, access to post-secondary and higher education for foreign nationals under the same conditions as Slovenian nationals is subject to the principle of reciprocity (Article 4.3 of the Post-secondary Vocational Education Act and Article 7.5 of the Higher Education Act). According to Article 3.3 of the Aliens Act stateless persons may be exempt from the principle of reciprocity if they have resided in Slovenia for a minimum of three years.
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Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 12/1996 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 79/2006. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 12/1996 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 86/2004. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 67/1993 and subsequent amendments.
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I.2.7 Health Care and Health Insurance Act
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Article 7 sets out the expenses related to health care which are financed from the state budget, including:
emergency medical treatment of persons with unknown residence, foreigners from countries without concluded international agreements and foreigners and nationals of Slovenia with permanent residence abroad who temporarily reside in Slovenia or are on the way through Slovenia and for whom it was not possible to secure payment of medical services, as well as other persons, who in accordance with this act are not included into the obligatory health insurance and are not insured with a foreign insurance institution The wide scope of this provision also appears to cover stateless persons who are not insured. Furthermore, as has already been presented, emergency medical care is also one of the rights available to persons with permissions to remain and persons detained in the Centre for Foreigners. However, the implementation of emergency medical treatment and emergency medical care in practice is problematic as every health care service provider has discretion in deciding whether or not certain health services are urgent (Article 25).
I.2.8 Pension and Disability Insurance Act
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Compulsory insurance is prescribed in this legislation for all persons who are employed and this Act does not make any distinction in this regard to foreign citizens or persons who are stateless. Voluntary insurance in the specific cases set out in Article 34 of this Act is generally allowed for Slovenian citizens. An alien may apply for voluntary insurance only if it is so provided by an international agreement (Article 34.4). In the case of stateless persons such agreement could perhaps be the 1954 Convention (specifically, Article 24 of the Convention).
I.2.9 Social Security Act and Financial Social Assistance Act
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The beneficiaries of the services set out in the Social Security Act are Slovenian citizens and aliens with a permanent residence permit (Article 5.1). However, a limited scope of services is also available to aliens who do not hold a permanent residence permit (Article 5.2). These services include social assistance in determining social difficulties of the person and assessment of possible solutions available in the social security system and personal assistance which includes counseling and guiding an individual with the purpose of enabling him or her to develop and improve his or her social skills.
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Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 9/1992 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 106/1999 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 54/1992 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 61/2010 and subsequent amendments.
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According to the Financial Social Assistance Act aliens with a permanent residence permit in Slovenia can be entitled to financial social assistance. Apart from permanent residence permit holders, persons can be entitled to financial social assistance on the grounds of an international agreement pursuant to the Financial Social Assistance Act (Article 3). As explained under Section I.1.1, the new Aliens Act provides that financial social assistance is also ensured for individuals who have permissions to remain.
I.2.10 Marriage and Family Relations Act and the Registration of 20 a Same-Sex Civil Partnership Act
Article 25 of the Marriage and Family Relations Act states: Persons who intend to marry must register with the civil registry officer, who administers the register of marriages for the settlement in which they want to marry. With regard to this registration, Article 26(2) further states: Together with the registration they must provide extracts from their registers of birth and notifications of citizenship, if these data cannot be established from official records. This provision can be problematic for stateless persons since they cannot provide notification of their citizenship. The paragraph could be interpreted in a way that for a stateless person this requirement is dropped (or instead, some kind of proof of statelessness must be provided); however, in practice this would be decided by the responsible civil registry officer. If these obstacles were overcome and the stateless persons could get married, a marriage certificate would be issued to them. Another problematic provision (Article 140, paragraph 1) deals with the adoption of a child:
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An adoptive parent can exceptionally be a foreign citizen, if the Social Work Centre was not able to find an adoptive parent among the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia for a child who is to be adopted.
This provision could be interpreted in a way that such adoptive parent has to have foreign citizenship, and a contrario, may not be a stateless person. Again, the interpretation of the provision would in practice depend on the responsible authority. Article 3(2) of the Registration of a Same-Sex Civil Partnership Act states:
Partnership can be registered if at least one of the partners holds the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia.
19 20
Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia No. 15/1976 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 65/2005 and subsequent amendments.
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As there is no specific mention of foreign citizenship, there are no hindrances to registration if the other person is stateless.
I.2.11 Copyright and Related Rights Act
21
This Act regulates the recognition of copyrights and industrial rights of natural and legal persons. This Act contains specific provisions guaranteeing rights to stateless persons (Article 183):
1)
Authors and holders of related rights who do not have a citizenship or it cannot be established enjoy the same protection under this law as citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, if they have their residence in the Republic of Slovenia. If they do not have a residence or it cannot be established, they enjoy in the Republic of Slovenia the same protection as citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, if they have their habitual residence in the Republic of Slovenia. If they have neither in the Republic of Slovenia their residence nor habitual residence, they enjoy in the Republic of Slovenia the same protection as citizens of the country of their residence or habitual residence. Provisions of this article shall also apply to authors and holders of related rights who have refugee status in accordance with international agreements or laws of the Republic of Slovenia.
2)
3)
4)
I.2.12 Personal Name Act
22
This Act sets out rules for designation, usage and changing personal names of Slovenian citizens. Throughout this Act there are only references to citizens and there is no reference to foreign nationals or stateless persons. At this point it is not entirely clear if the scope of the law also includes foreigners and people who are stateless. The authors of this study are, however, familiar with one case in which a child born in Slovenia was issued a birth certificate in Slovenia even though he was without citizenship. This shows that citizenship is not a requirement for a baby born on the territory of Slovenia to be issued a birth certificate. In other words, each baby born on the territory of Slovenia is entered into the birth register and is issued a birth certificate, regardless of his/her citizenship.
I.2.13 Free Legal Aid Act
23
This Act sets out the rules for awarding free legal aid and representation in legal procedures for persons who could otherwise not afford it.
21 22 23
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 21/1995 and subsequent amendments. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 20/2006. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 48/2001 and subsequent amendments.
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According to Article 10 beneficiaries can be aliens with a permanent or temporary residence permit and stateless persons who legally reside in the Republic of Slovenia. Other aliens can be beneficiaries subject to the principle of reciprocity or in accordance with rules and cases set out by international agreements that are binding on Slovenia. This definition could include stateless persons who are not legally residing in Slovenia. Additionally, stateless persons can be exempt from the principle of reciprocity according to Article 3(3) of the Aliens Act. Furthermore, Article 31.a establishes the authority responsible for examining the petition for free legal aid and states in paragraph 2:
If an alien or stateless person, who can be a beneficiary under this law, does not have temporary or permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia, the petition from the previous paragraph is examined by a responsible authority for free legal aid at one of the courts that the petitioner can choose him/herself.
This provision further shows that a stateless person without a residence permit can in some cases (in accordance with Article 10) be entitled to free legal aid.
I.2.14 Decision on the abolition of visa requirement for recognized refugees, stateless persons and holders of travel documents issued by the third countries 24 listed in Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, Annex II
According to this Decision refugees and stateless persons who hold travel documents issued by countries listed in Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, Annex II, are not required to obtain a visa for staying in Slovenian territory for up to 90 days within a period of six months.
I.2.15 Reciprocity Act
25
This law sets out rules on determining reciprocity in cases when reciprocity is a requirement for aliens to acquire immovable property in Slovenia. The law contains a specific provision referring to stateless persons, replacing the country of nationality with the country of birth or country of permanent residence (Article 7.3):
If the alien is without nationality he/she can in the process of determining reciprocity decide in his/her petition, whether to take into account when determining reciprocity the legal order of his/her country birth, country of permanent residence or country where the alien had his/ her permanent residence before acquiring a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia.
24 25
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 19/2010 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 9/1999
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I.3 Statelessness as a Result of Succession Policies Following the Dissolution of Yugoslavia

From 1947 until the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991 citizenship registers in Yugoslavia were administered only on the level of the republics and there was no centralized population register. This means that when a person was born in the Republic of Slovenia his/her republic citizenship was entered into the Slovenian population register. Until 1965 only Slovenian republic citizenships were entered into the Slovenian population register. If one or both of the childs parents who resided in Slovenia were citizens of other Yugoslav republics and subsequently the child received citizenship of another Yugoslav republic as well, this was not entered into the Slovenian population register. This policy changed after 1965 when the authorities began to enter all citizenships into the republic population registers. For example, if a child was born in Slovenia to Serbian parents and therefore became a Serbian citizen, his/her republic citizenship of Serbia was entered into the Slovenian population register. This information was often not communicated to his/her republic of origin.26 After Slovenian independence Slovenian republican citizens automatically became citizens of the newly established Republic of Slovenia. According to the Citizenship Act persons who had their permanent residence registered in Slovenia as citizens of other Yugoslav republics, and de facto resided in Slovenia, had the option of applying for Slovenian citizenship. Those who missed this opportunity or applied for citizenship but were rejected became the erased. Namely, the authorities considered that if these individuals did not become citizens, they had no other legal (residence) status in Slovenia, and they were removed from the register of permanent residence. Many of them subsequently tried to acquire Slovenian citizenship through regular naturalization. In such cases they had to produce evidence that they were dismissed from their previous citizenship. However, since the information entered into the republic population registers was not always shared between the republics (especially in cases when children were born in republic A to parents who were republican citizens of republic B) the person applying for naturalization could not acquire such proof. In such cases country B did not even know the person existed as all official information about the person was kept in country A. This way a person seeking citizenship was able to acquire neither Slovenian nor other ex-Yugoslav republic citizenship, which resulted in statelessness.27 The described mechanism that led to statelessness is not directly connected to the act of erasure from the register of permanent residence. While statelessness was a consequence of the inconsistent citizenship policies first of the Yugoslav republics and then of successor states of the former Yugoslavia, erasure was a consequence of a one-sided, unlawful deprivation of legal status of individuals (the erasure of people from the registry of permanent residence and depriving them of their legal status was a measure not foreseen in the national legislation neither before nor after the independence). In some cases, certain individuals suffered from both types of restrictive policies, being without documents and being stateless. The situation of a person who was stateless was worsened even further by the deprivation of their permanent residence status. By losing their permanent residence status they also lost an effective link that would enable them to acquire citizenship in the country of their residence (country A) in the future under naturalization provisions of the Citizenship Act. However, without a regulated legal status a person did not meet the conditions for acquiring citizenship.
26 27
Pravni vidiki izbrisa iz registra stalnega prebivalstva, mag. N. Kogovek alamon, 2011, p. 41-42. Pravni vidiki izbrisa iz registra stalnega prebivalstva, mag. N. Kogovek alamon, 2011, p. 83-85.
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In addition, there are many cases among the erased persons of people who were automatically granted citizenship of the successor state of the republic whose citizenship they had before the dissolution of Yugoslavia. However, since they were living in Slovenia without legal status and documents, they could not effectively exercise their citizenship.
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II. Comparing Existing Legislation with UN Conventions and Other International Instruments while Identifying Existing Gaps
In order to meet the second objective of the study we carried out a comparison of the international standards concerning stateless people with national law provisions. The key document in this respect, which was ratified by the Republic of Slovenia, is the 1954 Convention.
II.1 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 1.1: For the purpose of this Convention, the term stateless person means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.
The 1954 Convention defines a stateless person as a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. Under this Convention, its law does not only mean legislation, but also ministerial decrees, regulations, orders, judicial case law (in countries with a tradition of precedent) and, where appropriate, customary practice.28 A comparison of the Convention definition with the definition in the Aliens Act raises a question as to whether they are in compliance, i.e. whether the term legal acts restricts the recommended interpretation of the term its law as contained in the 1954 Convention. According to the UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness, the term legal acts seems to be narrower than its law, as the former does not necessarily cover sources of law such as customary practice.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 2: Every stateless person has duties to the country in which he finds himself, which require in particular that he conform to its laws and regulations as well as to measures taken for the maintenance of public order.
28
U NHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 1. The definition of Stateless Person in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, HCR/GS/12/01, 20 February 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4f4371b82.pdf
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The national law does not specifically impose on stateless persons obligations to conform to laws and regulations related to public order. Stateless persons are considered to be foreigners and for some groups of foreigners, in order to retain the right to stay in the country, obligations pursuant Article 61 of the Aliens Act apply. In the first paragraph of this Article it is stated that a foreigners permanent residence permit in Slovenia may be cancelled if he/she was convicted for a crime and was issued a punishment longer than three years or if he/she threatens the safety of state, public safety or public order.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 3: The Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to stateless persons without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin.
Slovenian law contains the prohibition of discrimination in its Constitution (Article 14) and in several organic laws, such as the Act Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment.29 Article 14 of the Slovenian Constitution states that everyone shall be guaranteed equal human rights and fundamental freedoms irrespective of national origin, race, gender, language, religion, political or other beliefs, financial status, birth, education, social status, disability or any other personal circumstance. Therefore, individuals are protected on grounds that include race, religion and country of origin either specifically or are covered with the general clause any other personal circumstance. The prohibition of discrimination protects all persons on the territory of Slovenia, including stateless persons.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 4: The Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons within their territories treatment at least as favourable as that accorded to their nationals with respect to freedom to practise their religion and freedom as regards the religious education of their children.
Religious freedoms in Slovenia are guaranteed by the Constitution as well as by the Religious Freedom Act,30 which applies equally to all persons on the territory of Slovenia. Article 2 of the Religious Freedom Act states that religious freedom in private and public life is untouchable and guaranteed (paragraph 1); religious freedom entails the right to free choice or acceptance of religion, freedom to express religious conviction and freedom to refuse its expression as well as freedom that anyone, alone or together with others, privately or publicly, expresses their religion in service, education, practice, religious rituals or in any other way (paragraph 2); no one shall be forced to become or remain a member of a church or another religious community or that he/she participates or does not participate in service, religious rituals or other forms of expressing religion (paragraph 3); realization of religious freedom includes the right to refuse to obey a duty, defined by law, which severely counters religious conviction of a person concerned, if this does not interfere with rights and freedoms of other persons, in cases defined by law. The conditions and
29 30
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 50/2004 and 61/2007. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 14/2007.
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procedure in relation to conscientious objection in military service are defined by provisions in the field of military service (paragraph 4); and the state shall ensure the realization of religious freedom without interference (paragraph 5).
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 5: Nothing in this Convention shall be deemed to impair any rights and benefits granted by a Contracting State to stateless persons apart from this Convention.
In our research we have not encountered any instances where this Convention would be used as an argument to prevent stateless people from accessing certain rights or benefits. In addition, this provision should be understood as a general principle that has to be respected when interpreting the Convention.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 6: For the purpose of this Convention, the term in the same circumstances implies that any requirements (including requirements as to length and conditions of sojourn or residence) which the particular individual would have to fulfil for the enjoyment of the right in question, if he were not a stateless person, must be fulfilled by him, with the exception of requirements which by their nature a stateless person is incapable of fulfilling. The analysis of the national legislation in part I shows that statelessness is not very often an element which is taken into account in awarding special rights to a person. Usually these rights depend on other conditions, such as a permanent residence permit or a regulated status of a foreigner. There are, however, several cases where statelessness is taken into consideration and such person has only to fulfil more lenient conditions (e.g. the time of residence in Slovenia needed to apply for citizenship). All such rights are specified in part I of this study.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 7.1: Except where this Convention contains more favourable provisions, a Contracting State shall accord to stateless persons the same treatment as is accorded to aliens generally.
The national law generally treats stateless persons under the same conditions as foreigners, except in certain cases when more favourable treatment is awarded to stateless people. The only case in which stateless people seem to be treated less favourably than aliens is the issue of access to residence permits. The lack of a passport and the inability to obtain one, which is often a problem that stateless persons face, is one reason why access to the status of a foreigner in Slovenia is more problematic for stateless persons compared to aliens.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 7.2: After a period of three years residence, all stateless persons shall enjoy exemption from legislative reciprocity in the territory of the Contracting States. Article 3(3) of the Aliens Act states that if the provisions of the Aliens Act require meeting the principle of reciprocity, stateless persons may be exempted from the obligations set by the principle of reciprocity provided that they reside in Slovenia for at least three years. The difference between the national law provision and the Convention provision is that the latter imposes a duty of exemption, while the national law provisions regarding exemptions are optional, which may or may not be followed by the competent authority. In order for the Convention to be respected, the exemption should always be imposed by the competent national authority. 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 7.4: The Contracting States shall consider favourably the possibility of according to stateless persons, in the absence of reciprocity, rights and benefits beyond those to which they are entitled according to paragraphs 2 and 3, and to extending exemption from reciprocity to stateless persons who do not fulfil the conditions provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3. One example of more favourable treatment is the provision of travel documents - aliens passports - which are explicitly available for stateless people. They are not generally available for foreigners with a certain nationality as it is expected that they would have travel documents of the country of their nationality. There are, however, certain problems with the practical implementation of the provisions that regulate aliens passports, as shown with the example of A.B. in part I.1.2 of this study. 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 12.1: The personal status of a stateless person shall be governed by the law of the country of his domicile or, if he has no domicile, by the law of the country of his residence. Under national law the domicile or residence of an individual is considered to be genuine links connecting a stateless individual with a state. For example, the International Protection Act defines a country of origin of a stateless person as a country where he/she had habitual residence prior to seeking asylum (Article 2(2)).
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 12.2: Rights previously acquired by a stateless person and dependent on personal status, more particularly rights attached to marriage, shall be respected by a Contracting State, subject to compliance, if this be necessary, with the formalities required by the law of that State, provided that the right in question is one which would have been recognized by the law of that State had he not become stateless. The rights recognized under the national law do not depend on the citizenship of a person but on the alien status of a person (i.e. temporary or permanent residence permit to remain, refugee status or status of asylum seeker). However, in order to regulate some of the statuses (i.e. temporary or permanent residence permit), a passport is required. When a residence permit needs to be extended on the basis of marriage, the absence of a valid passport may be a hindrance.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 13: The Contracting States shall accord to a stateless person treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, as regards the acquisition of movable and immovable property and other rights pertaining thereto, and to leases and other contracts relating to movable and immovable property. Immovable property: The national law does not only differentiate on the basis of citizenship or the lack of it, but also on the type of citizenship. According to the Constitution, the right to acquire immovable property is granted to foreigners under the conditions defined by law and international agreements ratified by the National Assembly. According to these agreements, the right to acquire immovable property is granted to citizens of the EU, the EEA and the USA. Nationals of EU candidate countries have the right to acquire immovable property under the principle of reciprocity. This means that nationals of third countries (i.e. non-EU and non-EEA countries) as well as stateless people do not have the right to acquire immovable property in Slovenia. Acquiring movable property is generally not limited, except in cases when movable property has to be registered (for example, in acquiring a car). In such cases there are several documents that a person needs to submit, including an ID card and a drivers licence, which can both be a problem for a stateless person unless such person has a regulated aliens status.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 14: In respect of the protection of industrial property, such as inventions, designs or models, trademarks, trade names, and of rights in literary, artistic and scientific works, a stateless person shall be accorded the same protection in the country in which he has his habitual residence as is accorded to nationals of that country. In the territory of any other Contracting State, he shall be accorded the same protection as is accorded in that territory to nationals of the country in which he has his habitual residence. In Slovenia, the Copyright and Related Rights Act guarantees the same copyright entitlements to stateless persons (or persons whose citizenship cannot be identified) as to Slovenian nationals, provided that the former have residence in Slovenia. If they do not have residence in Slovenia or such residence cannot be established, they enjoy the same entitlements as Slovenian nationals if they have their habitual residence in Slovenia (Article 183 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act).
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 15: As regards non-political and non-profit-making associations and trade unions the Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favourable as possible, and in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances. There are no limitations in the national legislation concerning nationality or lack of it for membership in associations or trade unions. Stateless person therefore have as equal access to the right of association as other aliens. 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 16.1: 1. A stateless person shall have free access to the courts of law on the territory of all Contracting States. 2. A stateless person shall enjoy in the Contracting State in which he has his habitual residence the same treatment as a national in matters pertaining to access to the courts, including legal assistance and exemption from cautio judicatum solvi. 3. A stateless person shall be accorded, in the matters referred to in paragraph 2 in countries other than that in which he has his habitual residence the treatment granted to a national of the country of his habitual residence.
Access to courts in Slovenia is ensured to all people on equal footing. The relevant act which provides legal aid for people who are lacking financial means to pay for a lawyer is the Free Legal Aid Act. This Act recognizes the right to free legal aid to stateless persons who are legally residing in Slovenia. Other foreigners have such rights under the principle of reciprocity and if so stipulated, with international agreements. This should include stateless persons who are not legally residing in Slovenia, as required by the Convention. In such a case the individual would receive treatment concerning access to courts equal to the treatment guaranteed for nationals. However, the question that remains is what kind of evidence will count as proof that a person is stateless, which would then allow for them to claim free legal aid under this Act.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 17.1: The Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, as regards the right to engage in wage-earning employment. Nationality is not directly a condition of being able to access employment in Slovenia. Access to the labour market depends on the regulated status of a foreigner. According to the Employment and Work of Aliens Act, a person with a permanent residence permit has as equal access to the labour market as a national. A person with a temporary residence permit has to have a work permit in order to have access to the labour market and even in such cases, nationals have priority. It is not clear how a person would be able to obtain a permanent or temporary residence permit if he/ she did not have a valid passport, nor is it clear how this person would access an aliens passport.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 17.2: The Contracting States shall give sympathetic consideration to assimilating the rights of all stateless persons with regard to wage-earning employment to those of nationals, and in particular those stateless persons who have entered their territory pursuant to programmes of labour recruitment or under immigration schemes. There are no specific provisions in the Employment and Work of Aliens Act that would concern stateless persons. Their rights would not be considered according to their nationality or the lack of it, but according to their alien status.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 18: The Contracting States shall accord to a stateless person lawfully in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, as regards the right to engage on his own account in agriculture, industry, handicrafts and commerce and to establish commercial and industrial companies. Nationality is not a condition for access to self-employment in Slovenia. Access to the labour market depends on the regulated status of a foreigner. According to the Employment and Work of Aliens Act, a person with a permanent residence permit has as equal access to the labour market as nationals. As discussed above, a person with a temporary residence permit has to have a work permit in order to have access to the labour market and even in such cases, nationals have priority. The problem is again the lack of clarity as to how one would obtain a permanent or temporary residence permit without having a valid passport and how one would access an aliens passport.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 19: Each Contracting State shall accord to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory who hold diplomas recognized by the competent authorities of that State, and who are desirous of practising a liberal profession, treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances. One way an individual can practise a liberal profession is to receive the status of an independent worker in the field of culture, obtained in accordance with the Act Regulating the Realisation of the Public Interest in the Field of Culture.31 The conditions for this status do not include citizenship. However, according to the implementing act (Decree on self-employed persons in the field of culture) the authorities require that a person provides confirmation on citizenship and has a regulated status of a foreigner. This means that in fact liberal professions in the field of culture seem to be inaccessible to stateless people. The requirement in the decree to submit a proof of citizenship specified in the implementing act does not seem to have legal basis in the primary legislation (i.e. in the Act Regulating the Realisation of the Public Interest in the Field of Culture).
31
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 96/2002 and subsequent modifications.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 21: As regards housing, the Contracting States, in so far as the matter is regulated by laws or regulations or is subject to the control of public authorities, shall accord to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances. According to the Housing Act,32 only nationals in Slovenia have the right to access non-profit rented housing, leaving out all aliens, whether they are stateless or not and regardless of their legal status. In this respect, the national legislation is not contrary to the Convention (as stateless people are treated as equally badly as all aliens) but it is contrary to the Council Directive 2003/109/EC which requires that long-term residents should have access to housing which is available to the public.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 22.1: The Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons the same treatment as is accorded to nationals with respect to elementary education.
This provision is reflected in the national law. According to Article 10(1) of the Elementary Education Act all minors under the age of 15 have the right and the duty to attend elementary school under the same conditions as nationals, regardless of their personal status and citizenship or the lack of it.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 22.2: The Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, with respect to education other than elementary education and, in particular, as regards access to studies, the recognition of foreign school certificates, diplomas and degrees, the remission of fees and charges and the award of scholarships. Access to education and studies is provided to stateless citizens under the same conditions as other aliens. Aliens have the right to higher education in Slovenia under the same conditions as nationals under the principle of reciprocity. Taking into account Article 3(3) of the Aliens Act, stateless people may be exempted from the requirement of the principle of reciprocity after residing in Slovenia for three years. Recognition of certificates is regulated in the Recognition and Evaluation of Education Act.33 This act does not mention the condition of citizenship or the lack of it for a diploma to be recognized in Slovenia.
32 33
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 69/2003 and subsequent modifications. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 73/2004.
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Scholarships are awarded to foreigners on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, according to the Higher Education Act. For practical implications of this principle, see part I.2.6 of the study.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 23: The Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory the same treatment with respect to public relief and assistance as is accorded to their nationals.
This provision is not fully reflected in the national law. Article 5 of the Social Security Act states that the beneficiaries of this law (which defines types of social assistance) are nationals and aliens who have a permanent residence permit. This includes stateless aliens who have a permanent residence permit. However, aliens who only have temporary residence permit only have the right to child benefits but not to social assistance. This means that stateless people who legally stay in Slovenia on the basis of a temporary residence permit are not treated as equally as nationals in the field of public relief. However, this is allowed by the next convention provision, which provides for exemptions in this field.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 24.1: 1. The Contracting States shall accord to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory the same treatment as is accorded to nationals in respect of the following matters: ( a ) In so far as such matters are governed by laws or regulations or are subject to the control of administrative authorities; remuneration, including family allowances where these form part of remuneration, hours of work, overtime arrangements, holidays with pay, restrictions on work, minimum age of employment, apprenticeship and training, womens work and the work of young persons, and the enjoyment of the benefits of collective bargaining; ( b ) Social security (legal provisions in respect of employment injury, occupational diseases, maternity, sickness, disability, old age, death, unemployment, family responsibilities and any other contingency which, according to national laws or regulations, is covered by a social security scheme), subject to the following limitations: (i) (ii) There may be appropriate arrangements for the maintenance of acquired rights and rights in course of acquisition; National laws or regulations of the country of residence may prescribe special arrangements concerning benefits or portions of benefits which are payable wholly out of public funds, and concerning allowances paid to persons who do not fulfil the contribution conditions prescribed for the award of a normal pension.
(a) According to the national legislation (Employment Relationship Act)34 all rights stipulated in this act are recognized equally for all employed persons, regardless of their citizenship status. Further, the Employment and Work of Aliens Act specifically states in Article 7 that aliens who are employed in Slovenia in accordance with the provisions of this law, shall be treated equal to nationals of Slovenia with regard to rights and duties pertaining to the employment relationship.
34
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 42/2002 and 103/2007.
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(b) In the field of social security the relevant acts are the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, the Health Care and Health Insurance Act, the Parental Protection and Family Benefit Act,35 and the Labour Market Regulation Act.36 These acts treat all employed people equally (whether they have citizenship or not), meaning that all employed people have to pay contributions to various insurance schemes tied to employment. However, there are some differences in benefits received from contributions paid to these insurance schemes. These benefits do not depend on whether or not a person has citizenship but on the type of residence or work permit an alien has. The benefits are paid according to bilateral agreements concluded between Slovenia and third countries. A certain agreement applies to a certain person if that person has citizenship of the other contracting party. In the case of stateless persons there could be a problem in benefiting from such agreements, if the agreement stipulated that nationality was the only key to receiving these benefits. See also Article 24.3 below.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 24.2: The right to compensation for the death of a stateless person resulting from employment injury or from occupational disease shall not be affected by the fact that the residence of the beneficiary is outside the territory of the Contracting State.
There are no limitations in the national legislation on obtaining compensation for the death of an employee who was stateless and had residence outside the territory of Slovenia. Such compensation is awarded by courts under the general provisions of tort law.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 24.3: The Contracting States shall extend to stateless persons the benefits of agreements concluded between them, or which may be concluded between them in the future, concerning the maintenance of acquired rights and rights in the process of acquisition in regard to social security, subject only to the conditions which apply to nationals of the States signatory to the agreements in question. There is one provision which extends the validity of the agreement on social security concluded between Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It states that the insurance periods are also taken into account for those people who are not citizens of BiH if they were a republican citizen of BiH before the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Since statelessness in this part of Europe is in most cases a consequence of citizenship policies of successor states of the former Yugoslavia, this solution is appropriate and could apply to people who are now stateless, even though this is specifically not stated in the agreement.
35 36
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 97/2001 and subsequent modifications. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 80/2010.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 25: 1. When the exercise of a right by a stateless person would normally require the assistance of authorities of a foreign country to whom he cannot have recourse, the Contracting State in whose territory he is residing shall arrange that such assistance be afforded to him by their own authorities. The authority or authorities mentioned in paragraph 1 shall deliver or cause to be delivered under their supervision to stateless persons such documents or certifications as would normally be delivered to aliens by or through their national authorities. Documents or certifications so delivered shall stand in the stead of the official instruments delivered to aliens by or through their national authorities and shall be given credence in the absence of proof to the contrary. Subject to such exceptional treatment as may be granted to indigent persons, fees may be charged for the services mentioned herein, but such fees shall be moderate and commensurate with those charged to nationals for similar services. The provisions of this article shall be without prejudice to articles 27 and 28.
2.
3.
4.
5.
There is no provision in the national law that would directly implement this Convention provision on access to documents. If such a case occurred in practice, the national authorities would have to refer to the Convention directly.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 26: Each Contracting State shall accord to stateless persons lawfully in its territory the right to choose their place of residence and to move freely within its territory, subject to any regulations applicable to aliens generally in the same circumstances.
This provision is respected. Stateless people who are lawfully staying on the territory of Slovenia (meaning they have a temporary or permanent residence permit) have the right to choose their place of residence and to move freely within the territory. Stateless persons who are asylum seekers have the right to reside outside the asylum home if their identity is fully established, if appropriate living conditions are ensured at the private address and if a personal interview has been conducted (Article 83 of the International Protection Act). In this case, stateless persons who are seeking asylum would be treated as equally as all other aliens who are seeking asylum.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 27: The Contracting States shall issue identity papers to any stateless person in their territory who does not possess a valid travel document.
In addition to aliens passports, identity documents for aliens can be issued to aliens who do not have and are not able to obtain a travel document from another country. However, the condition to get such documents is that a person has a residence permit. Legal residence is therefore a condition for such identity documents, but not for an aleins passport. This condition is not foreseen in the Convention.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 28: The Contracting States shall issue to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory travel documents for the purpose of travel outside their territory, unless compelling reasons of national security or public order otherwise require, and the provisions of the schedule to this Convention shall apply with respect to such documents. The Contracting States may issue such a travel document to any other stateless person in their territory; they shall in particular give sympathetic consideration to the issue of such a travel document to stateless persons in their territory who are unable to obtain a travel document from the country of their lawful residence. This provision is implemented by Article 98 of the Aliens Act which provides for the issuance of aliens passports to stateless people. This provision has already been extensively analysed in part I of this study. A stateless person may obtain such a passport if he/she has a residence permit in Slovenia. If he/she does not have a residence permit, he/she can only obtain such a passport if justified reasons are provided (Article 98(2)). Such a passport is considered to be as an equally valid identification document as other passports. It usually allows for travel to any third country, unless it specifically allows only for travel in certain third countries. This provision, even the optional part, is therefore fully respected. We have, however, identified certain practical problems such as the lack of any such passports being issued to stateless persons who do not have a residence permit in Slovenia.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 29: 1. The Contracting States shall not impose upon stateless persons duties, charges or taxes, of any description whatsoever, other or higher than those which are or may be levied on their nationals in similar situations. Nothing in the above paragraph shall prevent the application to stateless persons of the laws and regulations concerning charges in respect of the issue to aliens of administrative documents including identity papers.
2.
There are no provisions in the national law that would reflect such additional duties different than those imposed on nationals. The same administrative fees apply to stateless persons as to other aliens in issues concerning the status of aliens.
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 30: 1. A Contracting State shall, in conformity with its laws and regulations, permit stateless persons to transfer assets which they have brought into its territory, to another country where they have been admitted for the purposes of resettlement. A Contracting State shall give sympathetic consideration to the application of stateless persons for permission to transfer assets wherever they may be and which are necessary for their resettlement in another country to which they have been admitted.
2.
There are no provisions in the national law that would reflect the provisions on assets in the Convention. In such situations the Convention would have to be applied directly in order to be respected.
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1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 31: 1. 2. The Contracting States shall not expel a stateless person lawfully in their territory save on grounds of national security or public order. The expulsion of such a stateless person shall be only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with due process of law. Except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, the stateless person shall be allowed to submit evidence to clear himself, and to appeal to and be represented for the purpose before competent authority or a person or persons specially designated by the competent authority. The Contracting States shall allow such a stateless person a reasonable period within which to seek legal admission into another country. The Contracting States reserve the right to apply during that period such internal measures as they may deem necessary.
3.
A sanction of expulsion may be issued by a court judgment as a complementary sanction in the case of a misdemeanour for which an alien who is legally residing in Slovenia has been found responsible in accordance with the Minor Offences Act.37 This Act allows for an appeal to be lodged by any person, including a stateless person, and to submit any evidence before the court. Expulsion can also be carried out for various reasons relating to national security and public order, as a consequence of cancelling a residence permit, as specified in Article 61 of the Aliens Act. However, the question would arise where a stateless person would be expelled to if he/she does not have a country of his/her nationality. In such cases the person would be detained in the Centre for Foreigners, unless he/she was granted permission to remain (a toleration status which does not, however, represent a permission to stay, but only a protection from expulsion). Since the Convention leaves a large margin of appreciation in relation to the internal measures allowed in such cases, detention in the Centre for Foreigners might fall within this margin. However, detention of an alien, as provided by Article 5 of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms should lead to expulsion, as required by the European Convention. Expulsion seems to be one of the key conditions set by the European Convention for the detention of foreigners to be allowed. If expulsion of a stateless person was not possible, their detention would not be permitted under the European Convention. In other words, if the authorities were aware that expulsion of a person is not possible, detention for the sole reason that a person does not have a residence permit in Slovenia should not be allowed. 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Article 32: The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of stateless persons. They shall in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings. The national law follows the Convention provision. Naturalization of stateless persons is possible within a time period which is half as long as usual (five years instead of 10 years, provided that all other conditions are met for more details see part I of this study where citizenship provisions are analysed). Following the comparison of the Convention provisions with the national law we can conclude that for the most part, the Convention provisions are respected.
37
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II.2 Other International Instruments Granting Rights to Stateless Persons

In addition to the 1954 Convention as a key international instrument in this field, there are also other international documents that extend rights to stateless persons, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment etc. (the list is not exclusive). An analysis of implementing all of the provisions of all the stated treaties would exceed the scope of this study, so only those provisions that are particularly relevant for stateless persons were analysed in this part. In most cases these provisions relate to all persons under the jurisdiction of a certain state, regardless of their citizenship status. The ICCPR is the key international document that is applicable to all persons on the territory of the Signatory state, regardless of their legal status. Further, the rights specified in this treaty are absolute and only some of them may be derogated from in a state of emergency. However, there is one right that by its definition is applicable only to those with legal status on the territory of the member state, meaning that it is also of particular importance for stateless people.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 13: An alien lawfully in the territory of a State party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority. Since stateless persons do not have a nationality of the signatory state, they are automatically considered aliens. They enjoy the protection of this provision only if they have a regulated status of an alien residing in that state. If they do not have a regulated status, this provision does not protect them from expulsion. Under the national law, stateless persons without a regulated alien status are protected from expulsion only by the principle of non-refoulement. This convention provision therefore does not offer any further protection from expulsion to stateless people who are not lawfully at the territory of the State, apart from the protection of non-refoulement.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 4: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, in the enjoyment of those rights provided by the State in conformity with the present Covenant, the State may subject such rights only to such limitations as are determined by law only in so far as this may be compatible with the nature of these rights and solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society. This provision specifies the limitations that the signatory states may impose in defining access of people to its territory regarding social, economic and cultural rights. The provision is highly reflected in the Slovenian national law which limits access to all social and economic rights to people
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who have a certain legal status. In fact, the right of access to elementary school and urgent health assistance are the only social and economic rights that are accessible to all people, regardless of their legal status and citizenship.
European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Article 5.f: Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law: [] f. the lawful arrest or detention of a person to prevent his effecting an unauthorised entry into the country or of a person against whom action is being taken with a view to deportation or extradition. As mentioned above, a stateless person with a residence permit in Slovenia who is issued a sanction of expulsion in a misdemeanour procedure or is convicted of a certain penal sanction which causes a cancellation of his/her residence permit, may be detained in the Centre for Foreigners if expulsion is not possible. According to the provision of the Convention, such detention is only allowed if it is undertaken with a goal of deportation. If deportation is not possible, different measures have to be taken and detention is no longer allowed, as it is clear that the aim of deportation will not be met.
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 2: 1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. 2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. 3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.
This provision of the Convention against Torture is particularly relevant for stateless persons who do not have a regulated status in Slovenia, and would for that reason be subject to deportation, which he or she would await in detention (i.e. in the Centre for Foreigners).
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 3 (1): No State Party shall expel, return (refouler) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. This provision of the Convention against Torture is particularly relevant for stateless persons who do not have a regulated status in Slovenia, and could for that reason be subject to deportation to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being tortured.
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II.3 Consistency Between Treaties Referring to the Right to Nationality and National Law
The right to nationality is specified in three international treaties: the European Convention on Nationality (which has not yet been ratified by Slovenia), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (acceded to by Slovenia), which is applicable only for persons below the age of 18, and the ICCPR, which recognizes the right to nationality only to persons below the age of 18.
European Convention on Nationality, Article 4:38 The rules on nationality of each State Party shall be based on the following principles: [] a. everyone has the right to a nationality; b. statelessness shall be avoided; c. no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality; d. neither marriage nor the dissolution of a marriage between a national of a State Party and an alien, nor the change of nationality by one of the spouses during marriage, shall automatically affect the nationality of the other spouse.
The stated principles are reflected in the national legislation (the Citizenship Act). There are a number of provisions, described in the part I.2.1. of the study, which regulate acquisition of nationality for persons with ties to Slovenia and to protect persons from statelessness. However, in Slovenia, nationality is not yet considered to be a right, but a privilege that is granted to an individual by discretion of the state, except in cases of children who would otherwise remain stateless.
European Convention on Nationality, Article 18:39 1. In matters of nationality in cases of State succession, each State Party concerned shall respect the principles of the rule of law, the rules concerning human rights and the principles contained in Articles 4 and 5 of this Convention and in paragraph 2 of this Article, in particular in order to avoid statelessness. In deciding on the granting or the retention of nationality in cases of State succession, each State Party concerned shall take account in particular of: a. the genuine and effective link of the person concerned with the State; b. the habitual residence of the person concerned at the time of State succession; c. the will of the person concerned; d. the territorial origin of the person concerned. 3. Where the acquisition of nationality is subject to the loss of a foreign nationality, the provisions of Article 16 of this Convention shall apply.
2.
This provision could be relevant to Slovenian circumstances if the Convention was adopted before the dissolution of Yugoslavia (the Convention was adopted in 1998, while the dissolution of Yugo38 39
Not binding for Slovenia, not yet ratified. Ibid.
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slavia took place in 1991). It seems that the Convention is drawing upon the experience of, among others, the Yugoslav successor states in the field of citizenship polices which in some cases caused statelessness. Another relevant document in this field is the Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession, as well as the International Law Commission Articles on the Nationality of Natural Persons in relation to the Succession of States. Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 7: 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.
2.
This provision obliges the contracting states to undertake measures which will prevent statelessness in their territories. In Slovenia, registration of children after birth is regulated with the Register of Deaths, Births and Marriages Act.40 According to the law, a child must be registered within 15 days after his/her birth. The data registered include the name, nationality and the data on the childs parents. The child is granted nationality in accordance with the Citizenship Act, which contains numerous provisions protecting a child from becoming stateless. Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 8: 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to reestablishing speedily his or her identity.
2.
For Slovenia, this provision is relevant to the issue of the 1992 erasure from the registry of permanent residence, which illegally deprived certain people of their permanent residence status in the state. In addition, in many cases, restrictive citizenship policies of successor states of the former Yugoslavia also deprived people of their citizenship. The measures taken with an aim to remedy the erasure are minimal and the legal procedures initiated by people who were minors at the time of the erasure are slow and complicated. The measures address only the issue of restitution of legal status of some people and do not include any other remedies. The provision of Article 8(2) of the Convention is therefore not respected. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 24: Every child has the right to acquire a nationality. Similarly as in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the right to nationality is recognized with this covenant with regard to children and not to all persons in general. This principle is also reflected in the national legislation with numerous provisions ensuring citizenship to children and the more favourable treatment of children than adults (see part I.2.1.).
40
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 37/2003.
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III. Evaluation of Obstacles Hindering Slovenia from Becoming a Party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
A two-fold methodology was used for the purpose of preparing part III of the study. First, we sent inquiries to the relevant stakeholders (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior) in order to determine whether there are systemic obstacles hindering the Republic of Slovenia from acceding to the 1961 Convention. The inquiry included the following question: lovenia did not yet accede to the 1961 Convention. Where are the reasons for that? Are S there any specific obstacles for accession? Is the Convention on the list of international instruments that are planned for accession by the Republic of Slovenia?
The second methodological approach included reviewing the provisions of the 1961 Convention and comparing those provisions with the provisions of the national legislation in the field of citizenship and other relevant fields. The aim of this method is to identify gaps and inconsistencies with the 1961 Convention provisions which would have to be addressed in the accession process. This study first identifies these gaps, provision by provision, and then addresses the position of the relevant authorities.
III.1 Consistency Between the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and National Law
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 1: 1. A Contracting State shall grant its nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless. Such nationality shall be granted: (a) at birth, by operation of law, or (b) upon an application being lodged with the appropriate authority, by or on behalf of the person concerned, in the manner prescribed by the national law. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article, no such application may be rejected. A Contracting State which provides for the grant of its nationality in accordance with subparagraph (b) of this paragraph may also provide for the grant of its nationality by operation of law at such age and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the national law.
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2.
A Contracting State may make the grant of its nationality in accordance with subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this article subject to one or more of the following conditions: (a) that the application is lodged during a period, fixed by the Contracting State, beginning not later than at the age of eighteen years and ending not earlier than at the age of twenty-one years, so, however, that the person concerned shall be allowed at least one year during which he may himself make the application without having to obtain legal authorization to do so; (b) that the person concerned has habitually resided in the territory of the Contracting State for such period as may be fixed by that State, not exceeding five years immediately preceding the lodging of the application nor ten years in all; (c) that the person concerned has neither been convicted of an offence against national security nor has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years or more on a criminal charge; (d) that the person concerned has always been stateless.
The Citizenship Act defines several cases in which a person born on the territory of Slovenia obtains Slovenian citizenship by operation of the law.
Article 4 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: A child shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin: 1. 2. 3. if the childs father and mother were citizens of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth; if one of the parents was a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth and the child was born on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia; if one of the parents was a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the childs birth and the other was unknown or of unknown citizenship or without citizenship and the child was born in a foreign country.
Paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act does not explicitly state that citizenship has to be granted at birth as the child automatically acquires citizenship at birth (i.e. it does not have to be granted) if the relevant conditions are met. There is also the following provision in the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act:
Article 14(5) of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia may be granted to the child having no parents or whose parents have lost their parental rights or their functional capacity and who has lived in Slovenia since his birth, on the grounds of a petition by his/her guardian who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia and who lives with the child, provided that the consent has been obtained from the communal authority competent for social welfare if the acquisition of citizenship is to the benefit of the child. The provision does not mention a condition for the child to be born on the territory of Slovenia; however, the condition of living on the territory of Slovenia since birth implies that.
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These are the only possibilities for a child who was born in Slovenia to obtain citizenship if he or she would otherwise remain stateless. Apart from the conditions specified in the stated articles from the national legislation, there are no other conditions that have to be met. Since the aim of Article 1 is to prevent statelessness of children born in the contracting state, the question that remains unaddressed is the issue of citizenship of a child who is born in Slovenia, whose parents are known and do not have citizenship of Slovenia, but have citizenship of another state which requires a child to be born on its territory in order to be granted citizenship (i.e. a conflict of citizenship norms). Apparently, such a child could remain stateless. He/she would not obtain citizenship of Slovenia as he/she would not meet the conditions of Article 4 of the Citizenship the Republic of Slovenia Act, and he/she would not be granted citizenship of another state. Such a child would be protected only if all states would ensure that citizenship would be granted to children of their citizens. Since this is not necessarily the case, the Slovenian Citizenship Act would need to be amended to ensure that a child with two foreign parents unable to pass on their nationality would obtain citizenship of Slovenia to avoid his or her statelessness.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 1: 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 (b) and 2 of this Article, a child born in wedlock in the territory of a Contracting State, whose mother has the nationality of that State, shall acquire at birth that nationality if it otherwise would be stateless.
This Convention provision is reflected in Article 4.2 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act. This means that the same rule applies in cases where either a mother or a father is a citizen of Slovenia.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 1: 4. A Contracting State shall grant its nationality to a person who would otherwise be stateless and who is unable to acquire the nationality of the Contracting State in whose territory he was born because he has passed the age for lodging his application or has not fulfilled the required residence conditions, if the nationality of one of his parents at the time of the persons birth was that of the Contracting State first above mentioned. If his parents did not possess the same nationality at the time of his birth, the question whether the nationality of the person concerned should follow that of the father or that of the mother shall be determined by the national law of such Contracting State. If an application for such nationality is required, the application shall be made to the appropriate authority by or on behalf of the applicant in the manner prescribed by the national law. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article, such application shall not be refused. 5. The Contracting State may grant its nationality in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article subject to one or more of the following conditions: (a) that the application is lodged before the applicant reaches an age, being not less than twenty-three years, fixed by the Contracting State; (b) that the person concerned has habitually resided in the territory of the Contracting State for such period immediately preceding the lodging of the application, not exceeding three years, as may be fixed by that State; (c) that the person concerned has always been stateless.
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The national law does not provide for an age limit for lodging an application for citizenship for an adult who was born in Slovenia and had a parent who was a Slovenian citizen, and also does not include a provision that in such cases citizenship is obtained upon application. In Slovenia, the age issue does not arise as nationality is granted automatically at birth to a child born on Slovenian territory to a Slovenian parent..
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 2: A foundling found in the territory of a Contracting State shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the nationality of that State.
This convention provision is respected by the national law:
Article 9 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: 1. A child born or found on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia of unknown parentage or whose parents are of unknown citizenship or have no citizenship at all shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia. Citizenship of a child who acquired citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia under the previous paragraph, ceases upon the demand of parents, if until his 18 years of age it is established that the childs parents are foreign citizens. The childs citizenship ceases on the day of service of the decision.
2.
This first paragraph of this provision has a clear aim to prevent statelessness of such a child. However, it is problematic that the second paragraph of the provision does not include a safeguard requiring that before the parents request for withdrawal of Slovenian citizenship takes place, it is ensured that the child has, or has an assurance, of obtaining his/her parents nationality, in order to prevent the child from becoming stateless. Accordingly, Article 9 of the Slovenian Citizenship Act should be amended to ensure that such child is protected from statelessness, by requiring that before the childs Slovenian citizenship ceases a proof is submitted that a child acquired or will acquire another citizenship.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 3: For the purpose of determining the obligations of Contracting States under this Convention, birth on a ship or in an aircraft shall be deemed to have taken place in the territory of the State whose flag the ship flies or in the territory of the State in which the aircraft is registered, as the case may be. Slovenian law is not clear on this issue. What is clear is that the provisions of the Maritime Code41 are also applicable on Slovenian ships (Article 2). Similarly, the Aviation Act42 states that the provisions of this Act are also applicable on aircrafts registered in Slovenia (Article 4(2)). In relation to the law that has to be used in cases of compensation duty, the Private International Law and
41 42
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 26/2001 and subsequent modifications. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 18/2001 and subsequent modifications.
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Procedure Act43 states that the law to be used is the law of the state where the ship or aircraft is registered (Article 31). In other disputes concerning property and related rights concerning ships and aircrafts the law of the state where a ship or an aircraft is registered governs (Article 66). There are no similar provisions in relation to citizenship; however, using legal analogy, it could be argued that the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act should also be used for births that occurred on ships and aircrafts registered in Slovenia. However, for the sake of the principle of legal certainty, it would be necessary to include an explicit provision on this matter in the Citizenship Act for the purpose of implementing of the Convention.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 4: 1. A Contracting State shall grant its nationality to a person, not born in the territory of a Contracting State, who would otherwise be stateless, if the nationality of one of his parents at the time of the persons birth was that of that State. If his parents did not possess the same nationality at the time of his birth, the question of whether the nationality of the person concerned should follow that of the father or that of the mother shall be determined by the national law of such Contracting State. Nationality granted in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph shall be granted: (a) at birth, by operation of law, or (b) upon an application being lodged with the appropriate authority, by or on behalf of the person concerned, in the manner prescribed by the national law. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, no such application may be rejected. 2. A Contracting State may make the grant of its nationality in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article subject to one or more of the following conditions: (a) that the application is lodged before the applicant reaches an age, being not less than twenty-three years, fixed by the Contracting State; (b) that the person concerned has habitually resided in the territory of the Contracting State for such period immediately preceding the lodging of the application, not exceeding three years, as may be fixed by that State; (c) that the person concerned has not been convicted of an offence against national security; (d) that the person concerned has always been stateless. Granting citizenship to a person born abroad to one parent who had Slovenian citizenship at the time of birth is regulated in Article 4.3 of the Citizenship Act. The fact that citizenship can be granted in this way because the child would otherwise be stateless is visible from one of the conditions, namely, that the other parent (who is not a Slovenian citizen) is unknown or of unknown citizenship or stateless. However, this provision does not appear to cover the example where a child may be left stateless despite having one Slovenian parent and the other parent is of foreign nationality but is unable to pass on his or her nationality. In this case, there is no safeguard against statelessness.
43
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 56/1999.
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The provision should be amended to provide citizenship to every child who has one parent who is a Slovenian national, if the child would otherwise be stateless. The provision does not differentiate between the father and the mother but uses the term parent in accordance with non-discrimination on the grounds of sex. In the case of Article 4.3 citizenship is granted by operation of the law, which follows the Convention provision.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 5: 1. If the law of a Contracting State entails loss of nationality as a consequence of any change in the personal status of a person such as marriage, termination of marriage, legitimation, recognition or adoption, such loss shall be conditional upon possession or acquisition of another nationality. If, under the law of a Contracting State, a child born out of wedlock loses the nationality of that State in consequence of a recognition of affiliation, he shall be given an opportunity to recover that nationality by written application to the appropriate authority, and the conditions governing such application shall not be more rigorous than those laid down in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of this Convention.
2.
The national law does not foresee a loss of Slovenian citizenship by operation of the law following marriage, termination of marriage, legitimation, recognition or adoption. Paragraph 2 relating to children born out of wedlock is irrelevant in the Slovenian context, as children born in or out of wedlock are treated equally, as stipulated by Article 5 of the Marriage and Family Relations Act.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 6: If the law of a Contracting State provides for loss of its nationality by a persons spouse or children as a consequence of that person losing or being deprived of that nationality, such loss shall be conditional upon their possession or acquisition of another nationality.
Slovenian national law does not foresee a loss of nationality of the persons spouse or children if the person loses his/her nationality. This provision is therefore not relevant and Slovenian law would not need to be changed in this respect.
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1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 7: 1. (a) If the law of a Contracting State permits renunciation of nationality, such renunciation shall not result in the loss of nationality unless the person concerned possesses or acquires another nationality. (b) The provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall not apply where their application would be inconsistent with the principles stated in Articles 13 and l4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approved on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. 2. A national of a Contracting State who seeks naturalization in a foreign country shall not lose his nationality unless he acquires or has been accorded assurance of acquiring the nationality of that foreign country. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Article, a national of a Contracting State shall not lose his nationality, so as to become stateless, on the ground of departure, residence abroad, failure to register or on any similar ground. A naturalized person may lose his nationality on account of residence abroad for a period, not less than seven consecutive years, specified by the law of the Contracting State concerned if he fails to declare to the appropriate authority his intention to retain his nationality. In the case of a national of a Contracting State, born outside its territory, the law of that State may make the retention of its nationality after the expiry of one year from his attaining his majority conditional upon residence at that time in the territory of the State or registration with the appropriate authority. Except in the circumstances mentioned in this Article, a person shall not lose the nationality of a Contracting State, if such loss would render him stateless, notwithstanding that such loss is not expressly prohibited by any other provision of this Convention.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In Slovenia loss of citizenship is always the result of an application lodged by the person concerned. In most cases when the application for release from citizenship is lodged, the person concerned has to prove that he/she has or will be granted citizenship of another country, which protects people from statelessness. Article 18(1) of the Citizenship Act states: A citizen of the Republic of Slovenia shall lose citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by release (hereinafter referred to as: release from citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia), if a citizen so requests and fulfils the following conditions: 1. that the applicant has reached the age of 18 years; 2. that the person actually lives abroad; 3. that there are no military service obligations; 4. that all due debts and other lawful obligations have been settled; 5. that all maintenance obligations arising from matrimony and from parent and child relation have been settled with persons who reside in Slovenia; 6. that there is no criminal prosecution for criminal offence prosecuted by law currently running against such person in Slovenia, and that if the person was sentenced to prison in Slovenia, the sentence has been handed over; 7. that the person can prove or has proof that he/she will be granted foreign citizenship.
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This is a general provision in place for the release from citizenship and from paragraph 7 of the Citizenship Act, it is evident that proof of other citizenship is normally required, meaning that paragraph 1 of this Convention Article is fully reflected in the national law. Another relevant national law provision is Article 25(1) of the Citizenship Act: Article 25(1) of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: Any adult citizen of the Republic of Slovenia born in a foreign country and residing there and who has foreign citizenship may renounce citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia until the age of 25 years.
This provision shows that only a citizen born abroad who already has citizenship of another country may renounce citizenship of Slovenia, which is a provision that protects a person from statelessness. However, Article 23 of the Citizenship Act states: Article 23 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: In the case of full adoption, an adoptee under the age of 18 years who has citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia shall lose citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by release if so required by the adoptive parent who is either an alien or an adopter who has applied for release from citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, if the conditions under the preceding Article are fulfilled.
This shows that a condition that an adopted child has to have another citizenship before renouncing Slovenian citizenship is not included in the law. The reason might be related to the fact that a child can obtain citizenship of his/her (adoptive) parent; however, this presumes that parents always exercise appropriate caution with regard to citizenship of their children, which is not the case, and the role of the state is needed in this respect. Further, the lack of assurance that a child has or will obtain another citizenship is a problem for children in general. Article 22 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: 1. Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia of a child up to the completed age of 18 years shall cease at the request of both parents whose citizenship has been terminated by dismissal or of just one of the parents who has obtained dismissal from citizenship when the other is not a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia. Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia shall cease by dismissal for a child whose parents are separated on request of the parent with whom the child resides or was allocated for care and education and who has also requested dismissal from citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, or if the parent with whom the child resides is an alien. In both cases the consent of the other parent is required. If the other parent does not agree to the dismissal of the child from citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, the child may obtain dismissal if the State agency competent for social welfare gives its consent to the childs dismissal if it will benefit the child. Such consent should be attached to the petition for dismissal of a child from citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia.
2.
3.
4.
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5.
It is unnecessary to obtain the consent under paragraphs 2 and 3 if the whereabouts of the second parent are unknown or if the second parents functional capacity and parental rights have been taken away.
In this respect the national law provision would need to be reconsidered in the case of accession, since it needs to be ensured that before Slovenian nationality is renounced, children have another citizenship. This cvoncerns paragraphs 1(a) and 6 of the Conventions Article 7. The content of other paragraphs in this Article is reflected in the national law.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 8: 1. 2. A Contracting State shall not deprive a person of its nationality if such deprivation would render him stateless. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, a person may be deprived of the nationality of a Contracting State: (a) in the circumstances in which, under paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 7, it is permissible that a person should lose his nationality; (b) where the nationality has been obtained by misrepresentation or fraud. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, a Contracting State may retain the right to deprive a person of his nationality, if at the time of signature, ratification or accession it specifies its retention of such right on one or more of the following grounds, being grounds existing in its national law at that time: (a) that, inconsistently with his duty of loyalty to the Contracting State, the person (i) has, in disregard of an express prohibition by the Contracting State rendered or continued to render services to, or received or continued to receive emoluments from, another State, or (ii) has conducted himself in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the State; (b) that the person has taken an oath, or made a formal declaration, of allegiance to another State, or given definite evidence of his determination to repudiate his allegiance to the Contracting State. 4. A Contracting State shall not exercise a power of deprivation permitted by paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article except in accordance with law, which shall provide for the person concerned the right to a fair hearing by a court or other independent body.
The first paragraph reflects the general principle of preventing statelessness, which is also reflected in the national law even though it is not specifically mentioned. The second paragraph is an exception to the rule (no deprivation of citizenship if that would render a person stateless) which allows for such deprivation provided that two conditions are met. The first condition related to Article 7 is not relevant to Slovenian national law as such types of deprivation of citizenship are not allowed. The second condition, which relates to misrepresentation of facts and fraud used for acquiring citizenship, is relevant to Slovenian national law. Namely, according to the General Administrative Procedure Act44 the state body or another authorized person can claim the procedure to be renewed and one of the reasons for renewal are falsified documents and fraudulent
44
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testimonies submitted in the procedure (Article 260). In a renewed procedure the application for citizenship can also be denied. The circumstances in which citizenship can be revoked, which are mentioned in Article 8(3)(a) of the Convention, are also reflected in the national law. Namely, Article 26 of the Citizenship Act states that:
Article 26 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act: A citizen of the Republic of Slovenia, actually residing in a foreign country and also in possession of foreign citizenship, may be deprived of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia if his/her activities are harmful to the international or other interests of the Republic of Slovenia. Activities considered harmful to international and other interests of the Republic of Slovenia include: 1. if the person is a member of an organisation engaged in activities to overthrow the Constitutional order of the Republic of Slovenia; 2. if the person is a member of a foreign intelligence service and as such harms the interests of the Republic of Slovenia or if he/she harms such interests by serving under any government authority or organisation of a foreign state; 3. if the person is a persistent perpetrator of criminal offences prosecuted ex officio and of offences against public order; 4. if the person, despite the appeal of the competent authority, refuses to carry out the duty of the citizen of the Republic of Slovenia prescribed by the Constitution and the law. The person shall be considered to possess foreign citizenship if in possession of a foreign passport or performing military service according to the regulations of the state, or if he/she is employed with the state authorities or in military service of the foreign state. The decision on deprivation of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia may exceptionally be issued without the presence of the person concerned in the procedure. A person deprived of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia shall lose citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia on the day the decision was handed over to the person; if the decision cannot be handed over, citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia shall be lost on the day the decision is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. In spite of the reasons for which citizenship can be revoked from the person, it is still a condition that the person concerned has citizenship of another foreign country.
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 9: A Contracting State may not deprive any person or group of persons of their nationality on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds.
This Convention provision contains a prohibition of discrimination resulting in the deprivation of citizenship. In the national law such provision is contained in Article 14 of the Constitution which includes a general prohibition of discrimination on any personal grounds, including racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds.
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1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Article 10: 1. Every treaty between Contracting States providing for the transfer of territory shall include provisions designed to secure that no person shall become stateless as a result of the transfer. A Contracting State shall use its best endeavours to secure that any such treaty made by it with a State which is not a party to this Convention includes such provisions. In the absence of such provisions a Contracting State to which territory is transferred or which otherwise acquires territory shall confer its nationality on such persons as would otherwise become stateless as a result of the transfer or acquisition.
2.
This provision could be one of the more important and relevant provisions for Slovenian circumstances, if it applied to the period at the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Namely, there are many documented cases of people, especially children, who were rendered stateless by restrictive citizenship policies of successor states of the former Yugoslavia, including Slovenia. The description and analysis of this situation is included in part I.3 of this study. We have assessed that considering its content, the 1961 Convention has to be compared with the national legislation up to Article 10, as the Articles that follow are of a more technical nature. Even though we identified several gaps between the two systems (the convention system and the national legislative system) we assess that these gaps can be overcome either by minor changes to the citizenship legislation or with appropriate interpretation which would allow accommodation for the content of the Convention. The gaps that we identified are the following: he condition that a child born abroad whose one parent is a Slovenian national may obtain T nationality only if the other parent is stateless or unknown does not cover children whose other parent has a foreign nationality but cannot pass it on to the child. he law does not contain a safeguard against statelessness for children born in Slovenia T whose parents are foreign nationals but who cannot confer their nationality to the child. he law does not contain a protection clause requiring that a foundling obtained or will obtain T another citizenship before he or she is deprived of citizenship under Article 9.2 of the Citizenship Act. he condition that a child has to have another citizenship before renouncing Slovenian citiT zenship under article 22 and 23 of the Citizenship Act is not included in the national law. lovenian law is not clear on the issue of whether the principle of territoriality applies to SloS venian citizenship laws as regards ships and aircrafts registered in Slovenia.
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III.2 Response of Relevant National Authorities and Experts

Of the three ministries that were sent inquiries about the issues concerned, two of the ministries responded that they were not competent to respond on the matter. On 4 January 2012 the Ministry of Justice informed us that the competence on matters regulated in both the 1954 Convention and the 1961 Conventions is within the Ministry of Interior. Similarly, on 6 January 2012 we received a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explaining that they possess no such information and advised us to turn to the Ministry of Interior. In its response of 12 January 2012 the Ministry of Interior stated that in their opinion the 1954 Convention is appropriately implemented and respected. The response contained no further details on the implementation of the Convention. With regard to the issue of accession of the 1961 Convention the Ministry of Interior stated that accession is not needed as the main principles of the 1961 Convention are already included in the national legislation on citizenship. We did not obtain extensive information from experts dealing with international law as hardly anyone deals with this issue in Slovenia. However, Dr. Matej Accetto from the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law, underlined that accession to the European Convention on Nationality would also be needed. He assessed that the main reasons for the lack of accession is the difficulty of raising the sensitive issue on nationality in the state bodies, especially the National Assembly.45
III.3 Conclusions
In the assessment there are no significant systemic hindrances to accession to the 1961 Convention by the Republic of Slovenia. Due to the fact that the right to citizenship is still not established as a human right that can be claimed from a specific country, there are still too many cases of people who find themselves stateless due to different family circumstances or circumstances related to the geopolitical situation surrounding them and defining their legal status. There are several gaps in the national legislation that should be addressed in light of the Convention in order to strengthen the protection from statelessness. In addition to this important reason for acceding to the Convention, Slovenias accession to this Convention would also contribute to an affirmation of the protection from statelessness and to the right to citizenship on the international level.
45
E-mail response received on 12 January 2012.
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Intitut za sodobne drubene in politine tudije Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies

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Introduction and Methodology ................................................................................................... 5

List of National Laws

Introduction and Methodology

I.1 Aliens Act

I.1.1 Provisions Containing Direct or Indirect Reference to Statelessness

I.1.2 Provisions on Obtaining a Residence Permit in the Republic of Slovenia

I.2 Other Relevant Slovenian Legislation

I.2.1 Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act

I.2.3 Employment and Work of Aliens Act

I.2.4 Elementary School Act

I.2.6 Post-secondary Vocational Education Act and Higher Education Act

I.2.7 Health Care and Health Insurance Act

I.2.8 Pension and Disability Insurance Act

I.2.9 Social Security Act and Financial Social Assistance Act

I.2.11 Copyright and Related Rights Act

I.2.12 Personal Name Act

I.2.13 Free Legal Aid Act

I.2.15 Reciprocity Act

I.3 Statelessness as a Result of Succession Policies Following the Dissolution of Yugoslavia

II.1 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 42/2002 and 103/2007.

II.2 Other International Instruments Granting Rights to Stateless Persons

Not binding for Slovenia, not yet ratified. Ibid.

Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 37/2003.

This convention provision is respected by the national law:

Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 56/1999.

III.2 Response of Relevant National Authorities and Experts

E-mail response received on 12 January 2012.

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