'States of Being and Being of States: Citizenship and Statelessness in Domestic and International Law'
Paper
| Paper/Presentation Title | 'States of Being and Being of States: Citizenship and Statelessness in Domestic and International Law' |
|---|---|
| Presentation Type | Paper |
| Authors | Jones, N. |
| Year | 2016 |
| Conference/Event | Legal Transplants in the 21st Century: International and Comparative Law Colloquium 2016 |
| Event Details | Legal Transplants in the 21st Century: International and Comparative Law Colloquium 2016 Event Date 24 to end of 25 Nov 2016 Event Location USQ School of Law and Justice, Toowoomba Campus Event Description Today, more than ever before, world class legal research and effective local legal reform rely on the depth and breadth of foreign expertise. A critical point of transnational intersection is the growing global demand for human rights protection. Yet it is unclear whether this phenomenon is enhancing or hindering the inner workings of common law legal systems. In the United Kingdom, for instance, there is a significant ongoing discussion about the political ‘fit’ of the Human Rights Act 1998. Likewise, in Australia there is robust legal and political debate over the potential effects of an Australian Bill of Rights. The issue gives rise to even broader questions for common law systems: whether, and how easily, they can accede to and accommodate the institutions and concepts of international and foreign legal systems. The Colloquium aims to address the transplant and development of a human rights culture, and the reception of international and foreign law, in common law systems. The USQ School of Law and Justice therefore invites the submission of papers by individuals or panels giving international or comparative perspectives on any aspect of: Human rights law Constitutional law Environmental law Property and private law Cross-border law Although papers on any international or comparative aspect of these areas of law are sought, priority will be given to those that address the question of international or foreign legal transplants in these areas within the common law, and methodologies and theories that address the process or success of those legal transplants. |
| Abstract | Abstract: Citizenship and Statelessness in Common Law and International Jurisdictions Nationality is a legal bond between a person and a State. People’s nationality provides them with a sense of identity but, more importantly, enables them to exercise a wide range of rights. Without a nationality, stateless people are often denied the rights and services that countries normally offer their citizens. Statelessness can therefore be harmful and, in some cases, devastating to the lives of the individuals concerned.(1) Most situations of statelessness are a direct consequence of discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or gender. In 2014, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (‘UNHCR’), 27 countries denied women the right to pass their nationality on to their children on an equal basis with men, a situation that can create chains of statelessness that span generations. There is also a very real link between statelessness, displacement and regional stability, and new risks of statelessness are emerging with the growing number of major conflicts.(2) In 2014, the UNHCR also marked the 60th anniversary of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954) which, along with the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961), provides the international legal basis for ending statelessness. According to the UNHCR, tackling statelessness still poses a major challenge in the 21st century. At least 10 million people worldwide are currently stateless and a baby is born stateless every 10 minutes: ‘Statelessness can mean a life without education, without medical care or legal employment… a life without the ability to move freely, without prospects or hope.’(3) The issue of statelessness has also become topical in Australia, in view of the Commonwealth government’s recent amendments to Australian citizenship law and policy which can strip Australian citizenship from dual nationals (or prospective dual nationals) who are in prohibited areas or fighting with terrorist groups. The amendments in the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Act 2015 (Cth) have attracted criticism for their potential to breach international human rights of the people targeted by the legislation. This legislation exemplifies the tensions that can exist between a State’s exercise of its domestic sovereignty to regulate nationality and protect its citizens, and international law priorities such as protection of an individual’s right to a nationality and the need to avoid statelessness. Taking a comparative perspective, this paper will also discuss the provisions and operation of recent citizenship and counter-terrorism legislation enacted in other common law jurisdictions, notably Canada and the United Kingdom, which remove citizenship from nationals of those countries on prescribed national security grounds.(4) The paper will discuss the extent to which the legislation in these jurisdictions operates in accordance with international law regarding human rights and statelessness. In particular, the paper will consider answers to the following questions: Can international law offer States a framework to resolve issues leading to statelessness? How can this be achieved in view of domestic concerns over terrorism and national security challenges? References: |
| Keywords | statelessness, citizenship, nationality, national security, terrorism |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 480399. International and comparative law not elsewhere classified |
| Byline Affiliations | School of Law and Justice |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/1001yx/-states-of-being-and-being-of-states-citizenship-and-statelessness-in-domestic-and-international-law
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