2021 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 3(1) ISSUES The legal issues that were raised by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador were the following: 1. The act of revocation of the Ecuadorian nationality granted by naturalisation to the plaintiff: 1.1 Did it violate his right to due process? 1.2 Did it violate his right to nationality? 2. The detention alleged by the plaintiff at Guayaquil Airport: 2.1 Did it violate his rights to liberty and personal integrity? 2.2 Was it a violation of his right to migrate? 20 HOLDING On the violation of the right to due process, the Court established that the minimum guarantees of due process must be applied in any administrative proceeding, especially if a person's right to nationality is at stake. 21 The minimum standards of due process of law that should govern administrative proceedings were identified by both the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (‘IACrtHR’). 22 In this case, the Court determined that they were ignored, due to the failure to notify of the initiation of the proceedings and of the administrative act of revocation of nationality, in which the reasons for this decision were explained. 23 Consequently, the plaintiff was unable to exercise his right of defence, present evidence or lodge appeals against the revocation decision, which violated the right to due process in art 76 of the Constitution of Ecuador and resulted in the deprivation of nationality being arbitrary. 24 This is based on the Inter-American Principles on the Human Rights of All Migrants, Refugees, Stateless Persons and Victims of Human Trafficking which refer to the deprivation of nationality as follows: 25 States may not withdraw nationality except in very limited circumstances, based on non-discriminatory reasons under law, with full due process including notice and opportunity to challenge the decision. Migrants shall not be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality […] 26 Similarly, in relation to the revocation of nationality, the Court established that the decision must take place in individualised and ‘non-massive procedures’, through a prior and personal notification which allows the person to appear and 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 JP (n 5) 7 [41] (Salazar Marín J). ibid 7 [39]. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Human Rights of Migrants, Refugees, Stateless Persons, Victims of Human Trafficking and Internally Displaced Persons: Norms and Standards of the Inter-American Human Rights System, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.Doc46/15 (31 December 2015). JP (n 5) 10–11 [55]–[56]. Constitution of Ecuador (n 2) art 76. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Inter-American Principles on the Human Rights of All Migrants, Refugees, Stateless Persons and Victims of Human Trafficking, Resolution 04/19 (7 December 2019). ibid 11, Principle 25 (emphasis added). 4