Jules Lepoutre 2.2.2. Degree of Discretion Beyond these conditions, the key notion regarding the voluntary loss of nationality is the degree of liberty that the individual enjoys in order to relinquish his or her nationality; or conversely the degree of discretion that allows Member States to refuse the repudiation. In that regard, two procedures can be distinguished: declaration and release. The declaration procedure, on the one hand, means that individuals have a right to renounce their nationality, i.e., that the Member State enjoys no discretionary power to refuse this act of will – as long as the conditions set by the law are met. The release procedure, on the other hand, means that the Member State has discretionary authority to assess the opportunity of the repudiation, even if the conditions set by the law are fulfilled. It can be difficult, however, to evaluate in abstracto the range of discretionary power of the Member States – or the degree of liberty of individuals to renounce their nationality – because the procedure for repudiating one’s nationality by declaration can be more difficult than the release procedure, notably when the declaration procedure implies multiple and firm conditions, whereas the release procedure relies on a soft and liberal appreciation by the Member State. Regarding the degree of liberty of individuals to repudiate their nationalities, we can map four different patterns: (1) a liberal declaration procedure with few or no conditions; (2) a strict declaration procedure with many conditions; (3) a regulated discretionary release procedure with basic standards of appreciation; (4) a broad discretionary release procedure with no standards. (1) In the first case, individuals can easily renounce their nationality by a sole act of will. This is the case in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal where the only condition set by the law is to possess another nationality; apart from that, individuals are free to repudiate their nationality without any other conditions. (2) In the second case, it is more difficult for individuals to renounce their nationality because of the multiple conditions set by the law for initiating the declaration procedure. In France for instance, renunciation by declaration (except in cases of marriage) is only possible if the individual habitually resides abroad, has performed military service, has acquired a new nationality, and only within a oneyear period following this acquisition. (3) In the third case, individuals do not have the right to repudiate their nationality, but the discretionary power of the Member States to grant this right is limited by general standards set by the law. For instance, in Greece, release is granted if the government is satisfied that the individual has “no connection with the country”; in Slovenia, release can be denied “for reasons of security or defence of the State, or if required for reasons of reciprocity or for other reasons connected with a relationship with a foreign State,” or for reasons related to “the economic, social and national interests of the State.” (4) In the fourth case, the release procedure is governed by a full discretionary appreciation by the public authority, without any pre-condition set by the law. In Poland for instance, release is granted “upon the consent of the President of the Republic of Poland,” which is a “constitutional prerogative and is thus not subject to administrative or judicial review.”21 In France, the release decision is “authorised” by a “decree” of the government, without any condition set by the law – case law shows, however, that the judge limits the discretionary power of the government, which can only deny the release when the individual still resides in France.22 Finally, legislation in four Member States – Croatia, France, Germany, and Slovenia – allows individuals to renounce their nationality through both a release and a declaration procedure. In these situations, the release procedure imposes few conditions and gives the public authority a wide margin of appreciation, whereas the declaration procedure relies on multiple conditions, particularly residence abroad. In Slovenia for instance, the release procedure is very discretionary, the government being able 21 Gorny, A, and D. Pudzianowska. Country report: Poland, [GLOBALCIT], EUDO Citizenship Observatory, 2010/30, 14. 22 Lepoutre, J. (2020). Nationalité et Souveraineté. Paris: Dalloz, 279-281. 6 Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Working Papers