arbitrary deprivation of nationality, as the decision is at the sole discretion of the Minister, and there are no due process requirements or procedural safeguards incorporated into the legislation. This situation worsened in 1980 when Resolution No. 666 entered into force, which provided that Iraqi nationality ‘shall be dropped from any Iraqi of foreign origin if it is appeared that he is not loyal to the homeland, people, higher national and social objectives of the Revolution.’128 These laws made it possible for individuals to be denaturalized on discriminatory grounds, and did not afford them the opportunity to have the decision reviewed by a competent authority. With the 2006 reform of the law, the Minister may only deprive a naturalized citizen of Iraqi nationality following a final court judgement ‘if he is proved to have perpetrated or attempted to perpetrate an act considered to jeopardize State security or safety or has provided wrong information of himself or his family upon submitting the application.’129 With this amendment, Iraq has ensured that any decision to deprive someone of nationality is made in accordance with the law. The amended law also attempts to rectify the discrimination that occurred in the past. It does so by automatically restoring nationality to those who lost their nationality as per Resolution No. 666 of 1980, and by granting other individuals the right to restore their nationality by application if they were previously denaturalized on ‘political, religious, racist or sectarian grounds’.130 50

Select target paragraph3