SAHNI ARTICLE 3.3.21 (WORD) (DO NOT DELETE) Spring 2021 Loss of Nationality Rights 5/6/2021 7:21 PM 143 Article 41283 Citizenship of Iran is the indisputable right of every Iranian, and the government cannot take this right away unless the person requests it or if he becomes the citizen of another nation. Hence, Tjebbes overlooks that Ms. Saleh Abady never was entitled to apply for nor procure Netherlands nationality under the laws of Iran.284 Moreover, it does not appear that Abady intended to sustain a genuine and ongoing link with the Netherlands. The Applicant returned permanently to her Home State three years after receiving her Netherlands passport. 285 She severed her connecting factors by not renewing her passport two years later or satisfying the twelve months residence requirement.286 Though the Tjebbes judgment approves an automatic loss of Dutch citizenship for adults under Article 15(c), the ECJ encourages a concessionary approach when a dual national is a child or minor. The latter approach adheres to the safeguards to be proportional and in the public interest.287 The public interest is served by heeding the best interests of the child under Article 24(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.288 The State’s respect for private and family life under Article 7 of the Charter support and protect the best interests of the child. 289 The ECJ, accordingly, recognizes the best interests of the child standard as a policy factor that applies on a case by case basis.290 That stance is relevant and beneficial in particular if an Applicant is potentially Stateless because the parents lack the knowledge or accessibility to comply with Article 15(c). In Tjebbes, the child Applicant and her parents presumably were aware of their legal requirements since their habitual residence was in Europe. Ms. Duboux was born and raised in Switzerland.291 She was granted dual nationality at birth: Netherlands nationality from her mother and Swiss nationality from her father.292 Like many minors, she travelled on her mother’s passport.293 She 283. 284. Id. Case C-221/17, Tjebbes & Ors v. Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, 2019 EU:C:2019:189. 285. Id. ¶ 15. 286. Id. ¶¶ 15, 17. 287. Id. ¶¶ 25, 40, & 43. 288. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2012] O.J. C326/02, art. 24(2) (“In all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration.”). 289. Id. at art. 7 (“Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, home and communications.”); Case C-221/17, Tjebbes & Ors v. Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, 2019 EU:C:2019:189, ¶¶ 45, 47. 290. Case C-221/17, Tjebbes & Ors v. Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, 2019 EU:C:2019:189, ¶ 47. 291. Id. 292. Id. 293. Id.