49. The British Nationality Act 1981 contains two grounds to deprive individuals of their nationality on national security grounds. Under Section 40(2), the Secretary of State may deprive a person of nationality if they are satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good, but it must not render the person stateless. However, naturalised British citizens may also be deprived of nationality under Section 40(4A), which does not contain a safeguard against statelessness. Section 40(4A) states that statelessness “does not prevent” the Secretary of State from making a deprivation order if citizenship status results from the person’s naturalisation, the deprivation is conducive to the public good, and the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is able, under the law of a country outside of the UK, to become a national of that country. Contrary to international standards, only “reasonable grounds” are needed to satisfy that the individual “is able” to acquire a nationality elsewhere. Deprivation has immediate effect,73 a written notice must be provided,74 and there is a right to appeal (which can only be exercised if the person is on the territory). 50. British rules on nationality deprivation have undergone significant changes since the turn of the century, with deprivation powers expanded through successive law reforms. The UK Government's use of nationality deprivation powers on national security grounds has increased steadily since the introduction of these clauses, starting in 2006, as recorded in sporadic reporting from the Home Office and Freedom of Information Requests.75 51. While the UK can set its own rules for the deprivation of British nationality, these powers are governed and limited by international law. The British Nationality Act 1981 and its application in practice fail to comply with international human rights law, including the obligation to prevent statelessness, the prohibition on arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the principle of non-discrimination, and the prohibition of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, as articulated in the Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure.76 The provisions also fall short of international standards in relation to procedural rights, such as the right to a fair trial. In the UK, deprivation orders are an executive power exercised at the discretion of the Secretary of State, without any judicial oversight, need for criminal conviction, or approval prior to the making of an order. 52. Moreover, since an amendment to the law was made in 2004, deprivation takes effect prior to any appeal. Considering most individuals deprived of their nationality are outside the UK at the time of the decision, they are effectively barred from attending their own trial. This problem is further compounded by a recent practice by the UK Government of depriving individuals of their nationality without serving them adequate notice,77 which was held to be unlawful under domestic law but which the UK Government is seeking to 73 Following the removal of the suspensive right of appeal in 2004. British Nationality Act, Section 40(5). 75 Colin Yeo (2022), ‘New figures show over a thousand decisions made to strip British citizenship since 2012’, Free Movement Blog, 8 March 2022: https://www.freemovement.org.uk/new-figures-show-over-a-thousand-decisions-made-to-strip-britishcitizenship-since-2012/; UK Government Home Office (2022), Disruptive powers 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-powers-2020. 76 Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure: https://www.institutesi.org/year-of-actionresources/principles-on-deprivation-of-nationality. 77 See e.g. Matrix Chamber, ‘High Court quashes regulation governing notice in deprivation of citizenship cases’, 30 July 2021: https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/news/high-court-quashes-regulation-governing-notice-in-deprivation-of-citizenship-cases/; High Court, D4 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 2179 (Admin), 30 July 2021. 74 13