PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

NATIONALITY

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 NATIONALITY:
Nationality refers to a relationship between a person and
his/her nation, or in legal terms, a country i.e. a place to
whom a person has (or is claimed to "owe") his/her origin,
culture, familiarity, association, affiliation, fidelity, and
loyalty. The nationals of a country generally possess the
right of abode in the territory of the country whose
nationality they hold. Nationality of an individual is the
quality of being a subject of a certain state and therefore
its citizens. Nationality forms a continuing state of things
and not a physical fact which occurs at a particular
moment.

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According to Openheim:
"Nationality of an individual is his/her quality of being a
subject of a certain state."
According to M. P Tandon:
"Nationality is the character or quality arising from
membership of some particular nation or state which
determines the political states and allegiance of a person."
According to Hyde:
"Nationality is a relationship between a state and an
individual which is such that the former may regard the
latter as owing allegiance to itself."

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Nationality is regulated by municipal laws. But in case of
conflict between municipal and international laws has
always been a problem due to lack of uniformity of
municipals laws of the nations. So, to overcome these
problems some international rule have also been
recognized and others are attempted to be recognized in
this respect. As for example, double nationality,
statelessness etc.

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 WHAT IS CITIZENSHIP?
• A term denoting membership in a political community
with full civil and political privilege and this
membership imply, reciprocally, a duty of allegiance on
the part of the member and duty of protection on the
part of the state.
• This legal relationship involves rights and obligations on
the part of both the individual and the state itself.

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 CITIZEN
A person having the title of citizenship. He is a member of
political community who enjoys full civil and political
rights and is accorded protection inside and outside the
territory of the State.
Citizenship and nationality are not always synonymous.
Citizenship is applicable in determining the status of a
person. On the other hand, nationality not only denotes
the identity it may also refer to ownership. For example,
Aircraft, Ship, Company. Nationality is wider than
citizenship. All citizens are nationals of a state but all
nationals may not be citizen. USA by its nationality Act of
1940 and Immigration and Naturalization of 1952
distinguishes between citizen and national. In the USA,
citizens enjoy all civil and political rights but national
although enjoy legal protection and many privileges, they
however cannot enjoy all CP rights like citizens.
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WHAT IS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN CITIZENSHIP
AND NATIONALITY
1. Citizenship follows the exercise of civil and political
rights whereas nationality does not necessarily carry
with it the exercise of political rights;
2. A person can be a citizen of one country and a
national of another.

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 HOW IS THE TERM NATIONAL DISTINGUISHED
FROM NATIONALITY?
• National is defined as a person who owes allegiance to
and is entitled to the protection of a given state,
regardless of the status under domestic law.
• Nationality is often times use synonymously with
Citizenship. They are not exactly the same thing for the
first has a broader meaning that the second. All
persons are nationals, but not all are citizens of a state.
Citizenship implies complete possession of civil and
political rights in a body politics whereas the
nationality does not necessarily confer these rights.
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 IMPORTANCE OF NATIONALITY:
Strak's views:
(i) Protection of rights:
Protection of rights through the diplomatic channel are in
consequences of nationality.
(ii) Jurisdiction of state:
State exercises jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters
over the persons of its nationality.
(iii) Practice of state during war:
During war enemy is determined on the basis of nationality.
(iv) Refusal to extradite:
State can refuse to extradite its own nationals.
(v) Responsibility of state:
States shall be responsible for harmful acts committed by
their nationals if they allow them to commit.
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MODES OF ACQUISITION OF NATIONALITY
Different states have different rules regarding nationality,
so there are different rules in each state has for
acquisition of nationality.
There may be any of the following modes in different
states of acquisition of nationality.
1. By Birth: The first important and chief mode of
acquisition of nationality is by birth. Indeed, the
acquisition of nationality by another mode is exception,
since the vast majority of mankind acquires nationality
by birth, and does not change it afterwards.

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A person may acquire nationality by birth in two ways-
(a) Jus Soli or Jus loci: The place of birth serves as the
basis for acquiring citizenship.
A person becomes a citizen of a state where he is born
irrespective of the citizenship of the parents.
It is nationality according to territory or locality of birth.
(b) Jus Sanguinis: Nationality may also be acquired by a
person on the basis of the nationality of either parents. It
is nationality according to the nationality of the parents.
Blood relationship is the basis for the acquisition of
citizenship. The children follow the citizenship of their
parents of one of them.
The principle is called jus sanguinis.
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2. By Naturalization: Nationality may also be acquired by
naturalization. The most important mode of acquiring
nationality besides by birth is that of naturalization in the wider
sense of the term. Through naturalization, an alien by birth
acquires the nationality of the naturalizing state. Nationality by
naturalization means that the acquisition of nationality when a
person becomes citizen of a state for a specified course of time.
According to the municipal law of the different states
naturalization may take place through six different acts- namely,
marriage, legitimation, option, acquisition of domicile,
appointment as government official, grant on application.

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(a) Marriage:
The wife assumes her husband's nationality, if latter is the
national of another state.
(b) Legitimation:
A legitimate child acquires the nationality of his father.
(c) Option:
If a person fulfills the requisite conditions prescribed by
the law of any state, he may be offered nationality by that
state.
Purchase of Real Estate:
An alien, who buys real estate in a foreign land, can get
the rights of citizenship if he so desires.
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(d) Domicile:
If a person keeps domicile of a state s/he also gets the
nationality of that state.
(e) Government service:
If a person gets govt. service in a state s/he acquires the
nationality of that state.
(f) Permission by state to apply:
If law of any state permits application from persons for
conferring nationality. Such person may get nationality if
they prove their eligibility.

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3. By Resumption: The third mode of acquiring
nationality is called reintegration or resumption.
Acquisition of nationality by resumption means to resume
the previous nationality. Sometimes it may happen that a
person loss his nationality due to several reason, so
subsequently he may acquire the nationality of the
previous state. Such individuals as have been natural-born
subjects of a state, but have lost their original nationality
through naturalization abroad or for some other cause,
may recover their original nationality on fulfilling certain
conditions. This is called reintegration or resumption.

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4. By Subjugation: In case of conquest of a state by another
state all the citizens of the defeated state become the
nationals of the conquering state, the mode of acquisition is
said to be acquisition of nationality by subjugation.
5. By Cession: When a state or a part of a state is ceded to
another state, all the nationals of the former state acquire
the nationality of the state in which their territory has been
so merged.
6. By Option: Nationality may also be acquired by option, in
case where a parent state has been partitioned into two or
more states. In such a case the inhabitants have an option
to acquire the nationality of any of the successor states.
7. By Registration: Nationality can also be acquired by the
legislative or administrative act of the state. The laws as to
acquisition of nationality by registration are different in
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 MODES OF LOSING NATIONALITY
There are five modes of losing nationality, although all five
are no means recognized by all the states. These are
release, deprivation, expiration, option and substitution
1. Release:
Some states, such as Germany, give their citizens the right
to ask to be released from their nationality. Such releases, if
granted, denationalizes the released individual. It is effected
by submitting an application by the nationality holder. If the
application is allowed s/he may lose his/her nationality.

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2. Deprivation:
Some states provide deprivation of nationality in certain
circumstances. If a national of a state gets his/her
appointment in another state without seeking prior
permission of his/here state, s/he will be deprived of the
nationality in that state. For example, according to the
municipal law of some states, as, for instance, Bulgaria,
Greece, Italy, Holland, Portugal, and Spain, the fact that a
citizen enters into foreign civil or military service without
permission of his/her sovereign deprives him/her of
his/her nationality.

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3. Expiration/Residence abroad for long period:
If a person resides for a long period in abroad his nationality is
lost. Some states have legislated that citizenship expires in the
case of such of their subjects as have left the country and stayed
abroad a certain length of time. For instance, a naturalized citizen
of United States of America as a rule loses his citizenship by
residing for two years in the country of his origin or for five years
in any other foreign state. Or, again, the American citizenship of a
woman who acquired it by marriage to an American man expires
incase she is living abroad at the time when her husband dies or
her marriage is dissolved, unless within one year after such an
event she registers as an American citizen before the US consul.

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4. Option:
For example, some states, Great Britain for instance, which
declare a child born of foreign parents on their territory to
their natural-born subject, although s/he becomes at the
same time, according to the municipal law of the home
state of the parents, a subject of such state, give the right
to such child to make, after coming of age, a declaration
that he desires to cease to be a citizen.

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5. Substitution:
Loss of nationality of substitution occurs when a person
loses nationality of one state and acquires nationality of
another state.
According to the law of many states, as, for instance, Great
Britain, the nationality of their subjects is extinguished
ipso facto by their naturalization abroad, be it through
marriage, grant on application, or otherwise. Some states,
however, do not object to their citizens acquiring another
nationality besides that which already possess.
6. Marriage:
Women lose the citizenship of their original state if they
marry aliens. In England, there is a move to retain English
citizen­ship for women marrying foreigners.
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 DISTINCTION BETWEEN NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP
As it obvious that nationality is a relation of a person with
the nation of which he has nationality while at the other
hand citizenship is the relation of a national with the law
of the state. In other words national enjoys certain legal
rights while citizen enjoys absolute rights in the state.
So, nationality may be the subject of international law as
well as, municipal law, while at the other hand citizenship
is the exclusive subject of municipal law.

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 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP
(i) As to relation:
Nationality is relationship between national and individual.
Citizenship is relationship between the persons and state
law.
(ii) As to right:
A person may get international rights by getting nationality
of a state. The rights of citizenship are concerned with the
state law.
(iii) As to scope:
Nationality has wider scope.
Citizenship has less scope.
(iv) As to law:
Nationality concerns both with municipal laws and
international law.
Citizenship concern with municipal law only.
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 DISTINCTION BETWEEN DOMICILE AND CITIZENSHIP
The most unique distinction between domicile and citizenship
is that domicile connotes the civil rights of a person while
citizen ship is a political status of a person. In other words a
person having domicile may not be called citizen of a state,
because he only enjoys certain general civil rights in the
consequence of his domicile. While a citizen of a state enjoys
all civil as will as political rights of that state. The reason is that
in case of domicile the person is merely affiliated with the state
by tie of his residence in that state, but in case of citizenship
the person has a political tie with the state and the state, that
is to say, the state’s policy will affect his political life.

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 DISTINCTION BETWEEN NATIONALITY AND DOMICILE
As we know that nationality is the relation of the person
with the state which provides him protection and all
rights annexed thereto. While at the other hand domicile
is place of residence of person. In other words due to
nationality a person becomes the member of that
community while domicile is merely the land where he
has residence.
Nationality may be acquired due to domicile. For such
acquisition of nationality different states have different
laws.
NEW FORMS OF CITIZENSHIP
1. Citizenship provided by an international organization
2. Citizenship in a borderless world
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 ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP
• Early 1974, the Paris Summit of the Heads of States launched
a study of “the conditions under which the citizens… of the
Member States could be given social rights as members of the
[European] community.
• The rights of EU citizens within the EU:
1. The right to move and reside freely within the territory the
territory of the member states;
2. The right to vote and be a candidate at municipal elections in
the member state in which he resides, although not a citizen
of the member state, under the same conditions as nationals
of that state;
3. Protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any
member state, on the same conditions as the nationals of
that state;
4. The right to petition the European Parliament about any
matter that comes within the Community’s fields of activity
and that affects that citizen.
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 CITIZENSHIP IN A BORDERLESS WORLD

• With the advent of the information age, or the

electronic world of ‘cyberspace’, citizen one day may
not be dependent on the relationship between the
individual and the state.
• Globalization will revise the degree to which nation-
states are sovereign as borders become less relevant to
our daily lives.

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 DUAL NATIONALITY
• A dual national possesses the citizenship of more than
one nation
• An individual may acquire dual nationality because:
1. He/she was born in a nation that applies the jus soli
rule of automatic nationality by birth
2. Simultaneously acquire the parents’ citizenship when
their home nation applies the jus sanguinis rule of
parental nationality.
UNUSUAL BURDENS AS A RESULTS OF DUAL
NATIONALITY
3. Jurisdiction; 2. Taxes;
3. Military service;
4. Protection when he/she is harmed in a third nation
(Nottebohm case)
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Nottebohm (P), a German citizen, lived in Guatemala (D) for 34
years and applied for Liechtenstein (P) citizenship one month
after the start of World War II.  Nottebohm (P) was a German by
birth. Nottebohm (P) lived in Guatemala (D) for 34 years,
retaining his German citizenship and family and business ties
with it. One month after the outbreak of World War II,
Nottebohm {P) applied for citizenship with Liechtenstein {P), a
neutral country. Nottebohm (P) had no ties with Liechtenstein {P)
and intended to remain in Guatemala (D). Liechtenstein (P)
approved the naturalization application and impliedly waived its
three-year residency requirement. Nottebohm (P) briefly visited
Liechtenstein (P) and, on his return to Guatemala (D), was
refused admittance, being deemed a German national.
Nottebohm’s (P) Liechtenstein (P) citizenship was not honored.
Liechtenstein {P) brought an action before the International
Court to compel Guatemala (D) to recognize Nottebohm (P) as
one of its nationals. Guatemala (D) challenged the validity of
Nottebohm’s (P) citizenship, the right of Liechtenstein (P) to bring
the action and alleged its belief that Nottebohm (P) remained a
German national.
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Issue:
Must a nation automatically recognize the citizenship conferred
on a party by another nation?
Outcome:
No. As a general rule, matters concerning citizenship are solely
the concern of the granting nation. It  alone will normally bear the
burdens or attain the benefits from the conferral of citizenship on
a party. However, the conferring state may not require other
states to  automatically accept its designation unless it has acted
in conformity with the general aim of forging a genuine bond
between it and its national. Here, no relationship exists  between
Liechtenstein and Nottebohm (P). There was never an intent to
reside in Liechtenstein (P), no business or family connections, no
acceptance of traditions and the severing of old ties, etc. The
change in nationality was a mere convenience/subterfuge
mandated by the war. Under such circumstances, Guatemala (D)
was not forced to recognize it. Dismissed.
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Rule:
while nationality conferred on a party is normally only
the concern of that nation, such nationality may be
disregarded by other states where it is clear that it was
a mere device/subterfuge.
Analysis:
A state putting forth a claim must establish a locus
standi for that purpose. This is almost exclusively a
showing of nationality of the claimant The real
claimant must have continuously and without
interruption from the time of the injury to the making
of an award been a national of the state making the
claim and must not have been a national of the state
against whom the claim has been filed.
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 STATELESS
Stateless Person:
A person who is not considered as a national by any state under
the operation of its law.
• Individuals are stateless when they lack the nationality of any
state.
• Loss of one’s original citizenship-typically conferred by birth or
parentage, without obtaining a new citizenship-renders the
individual stateless.
• The individuals cannot claim the bond of citizenship with any
state to protect them.
• There is no state to come to aid of an individual who is in need
of diplomatic representation.
• Brazil follows Jus Soli. A person born in the family of Brazilian
citizen parents staying in France will not acquire any nationality.
Because Brazil follows Jus Soli and France Follows Jus Sanguinis.
On the other hand, a person born in the family of French citizen
parents staying in Brazil will acquire double nationality.
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