Abdullah Athayi citizens to acquire Afghanistan citizenship was mentioned in the law,3 but the Great State of Afghanistan had full discretion to grant citizenship to foreigners or not according to national interests. Since this was the first experience with legislating on citizenship matters, a comprehensive law on citizenship could not be expected at that time. Therefore, the law did not elaborate on naturalisation or other grounds for acquisition, or on the relevant conditions and effects. Moreover, the law did not regulate the loss of citizenship. 2.2 Citizenship during the Osolnama period (1932-1964) Afghan legislation developed greatly during the Osolnama period. The first parliament was established on 10 September 1931, leading to an improvement in Afghan legislation in general and in citizenship rules in particular. The parliament approved laws, treaties and bilateral agreements. Moreover, since one of the main tasks of a parliament is to propose legislation, the legal advisors and lawmakers enriched the laws by examining various national and international sources. At the international level, important steps towards the codification of citizenship law were made by the 1930 Hague Convention,4 which affected Afghan national legislation. It is quite clear that, in addition to drawing on the law on citizenship of 1922, Afghan legislators benefited greatly from the 1930 Convention when they approved a new law on citizenship on 7 November 1936. From a legal perspective, the principles adopted in the law on citizenship closely followed the rules and principles of the Hague Convention and enriched the law with international rules and standards. For the first time in Afghan law, the ius soli principle was brought in to complement the ius sanguinis principle. The lawmakers distinguished between citizenship through origin and naturalisation and the conditions for naturalisation to Afghan citizenship were determined. Subsequent laws not only laid down the rules for acquisition iure sanguinis and iure soli, but also contained provisions dealing with naturalisation, loss of citizenship, the status of Afghan women who married a foreigner and vice versa, and the legal age for cases of acquisition and loss of citizenship. Article 2 of the law on citizenship laid down the rules surrounding ius sanguinis and stipulated that “all persons born of an Afghan mother and father, whether inside or outside Afghan territory, shall be considered Afghan and shall hold Afghan citizenship.” There were two provisions dealing with ius soli. The first of these was restricted to those born in Afghanistan to a parent who was also born there and who continued to live in Afghan territory (Article 4);5 the second provided for unconditional ius soli (Article 5).6 After reaching the age of eighteen, citizens subject to Articles 4 and 5 could obtain their father’s citizenship within one year of their coming of age, provided that they attached a verification letter from their father’s government accepting him or her as a citizen. Various modes of acquisition of the citizenship of Afghanistan were provided for in the 1936 law on citizenship: 3 Article 4 of the law stipulated that “Foreign citizens can obtain Afghan identity cards according to the law on citizenship.” 4 Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, Hague, 12 April 1930. 5 The Article stated that “persons born to foreign parents in Afghanistan, provided that one of the parents was born and has continuously lived in Afghanistan, shall be considered Afghan citizens.” 6 It stated that “persons born in Afghanistan of a foreign father or mother or two foreign parents, and who continue to live in Afghanistan until their coming of age, shall be considered citizens of Afghanistan.” “Children of foreign ambassadors, ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, consular officers and other official representatives shall not be subject to the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 above.” 4 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2017/9 - © 2017 Author