CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ CZECHOSLOVAKIA: CERTIFICATES AND PASSPORTS OF REFUGEES for a one-time use and only for a trip beyond the Czechoslovak border to a specific state, or for the return to Czechoslovakia within a short period of time. After that the passport immediately expired. In order to stay in Czechoslovakia, the passport had to be replaced by a personal certificate of residency. Russian and Ukrainian refugees could request a Czechoslovak provisional passport. The right as a subjective mode of normativity was not specifically enacted. It was not even a part of a sub-statutory instrument. Refugees had no legal claim to be granted a Czechoslovak provisional passport. In relation to refugees, the issuance of these temporary travel documents was a facultative matter. The competent authorities had the discretion whether to grant such a kind of emergency passport or not. 82 Nevertheless, the passport authority was under the legal duty of taking into consideration the factual circumstances of each application. The circular of the Ministry of Interior no. 19624/1928-5 of 14 September 1928, noted that excessive strictness was not desired, on the contrary, a lenient approach should be sustained. 83 The issuance of provisional passports to stateless persons, or persons with doubtful or disputed nationality, was dealt with by Act no. 55/1928 Coll. on passports. The applicant had to meet all legal requirements for granting a valid international passport, except for the requirement of Czechoslovak nationality. Provisional passports were issued on a special form, which was colour-coded differently to the ordinary Czechoslovak passport. Its designation always embraces the term “provisional”. 84 The Czechoslovak provisional passport served the purpose of an identification certificate in relation to other states, but not in relation to the country itself. Such a passport testified to the holder’s own identity as would an ordinary passport. The passport could not serve any other identification purpose (e.g., verifying the nationality of its holder). Nevertheless, the refugee was deprived of nationality and de jure of protection. No diplomatic or consular protection could be carried out by any state for the refugee’s benefit. The provisional passport also discharged a permissive function. Czechoslovakia permitted the refugee to leave the state of their residency and to travel to a specific country. The provisional passport as an internationally recognized document granted entrance into the territory of a designated state and a temporary stay there. Indeed, such a refugee was usually issued a visa by the receiving state for certain grounds. The provisional passport could have another permissive objective too: to permit the refugee to return to the state of their residency. The validity of the Czechoslovak provisional passport was limited to the time necessary to carry out the purpose of a (usually one-off) journey. 85 Personal certificates of identity The second passport conference was convened in Geneva in line with the resolution of the Council of the League of Nations on 9 December 1925. The Council decided, upon the proposal of the Advisory and Technical Committee for Communications and Transit, to 5.

82 The Passport Act; implementation instructions. (Zákon o cestovních pasech; prováděcí pokyny). Circular of the Ministry of Interior no. 19624/1928-5. Official gazette of the Ministry of Interior of the Czechoslovak Republic , Praha, Rolnické tiskárny, 1928, ročník X, p. 142.

83 Ibidem . 84 Ibidem . 85 Ibidem.

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