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Statelessness
Improving the legal situation of stateless people by assisting in and observing trials

On 7 September 2022, a delegation of Hanns Seidel Foundation Thailand travelled to Phitsanulok to observe the case concerning the statelessness of Mr. Bia-or before the Administrative Court.

HSF

With the assistance of the so called Four Doctors Legal Clinic in Umphang district, Tak province, Thailand, Mr. Bia-or – a stateless person of Karen ethnicity – has filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court in Phitsanulok province back in 2016 requesting the Court to enforce his right to have his birth registered in Thailand and to be issued a birth certificate.

The team at the Four Doctors Legal Clinic has been preparing for the case law since 2016. The first hearing was finally held on 7 September 2022 at 10:00 am at the Phitsanulok Administrative Court. Dr. Worawit Tantiwattanasap (Dr. Tui), Director of Umphang Hospital and the founder of the Four Doctors Legal Clinic supported Mr. Bia-or in his case law by submitting an amicus to the court.

The positive outcome of the case of Mr. Bia-or would set a precedence for the many stateless Karen people in the Tak region concerning their rights as a stateless person.