WHAT IS A FOREIGNERS TRIBUNAL? A Foreigners Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body set up under the Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 1964 to determine whether a person is a foreigner or not.8 In 1964, four foreigners tribunals were set up in Assam which were increased to nine by 1968.9 Since 2005, foreigners tribunals make the determination vis-à-vis Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 which codified a separate cut-off date for acquiring citizenship in Assam.10 Currently, 100 foreigners tribunals function across 33 districts of Assam.11 The Government of Assam plans to set up 200 more.12 Foreigners Tribunals may receive cases through three channels: 1. Border Police - The Border Police, which may not be stationed at the border is empowered to refer a person it suspects to be a foreigner to a Foreigner Tribunal. All police stations across Assam have the presence of border police. 2. Election Commission of India - In 1997, the Election Commission of India undertook an intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Assam and marked over 230,000 people as Doubtful or 'D' voter.13 After the 2005 case of Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of India14, all the cases were transferred to the Foreigners tribunals. 3. National Register of Citizens - On 31 August 2019, the National Register of Citizens, a Supreme Court-monitored bureaucratic exercise excluded more than 1.9 million people from its final list. After receiving the rejection orders, these people may appeal against their exclusion to the Foreigners tribunals, which would then have six months to give an opinion. 8. Clause 1, Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 9. White Paper on Foreigners, https://cjp.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/White-Paper-On-Foreigners-Issue-20-10-2012.pdf, 9. 10. See, Problematic Laws 11. 200 Additional Foreigners Tribunals in 33 Assam Districts: Govt, India Today, 27 Sept. 2019, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/foreigners-tribunals-assamnrc-1603811-2019-09-27 12. 200 Additional Foreigners Tribunals in 33 Assam Districts: Govt, India Today, 27 Sept. 2019, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/foreigners-tribunals-assamnrc-1603811-2019-09-27 13. White Paper on Foreigners, https://cjp.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/White-Paper-On-Foreigners-Issue-20-10-2012.pdf, 23. 14. 2005(5) SCC 665, https://indiankanoon.org/doc/907725/ A Foreigners Tribunal in Guwahati. © Amnesty International India