44. Second, most appeals against deprivations taken on grounds of national security will be heard by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (‘SIAC’), which can hear secret evidence in closed proceedings. This means the appellant does not have to be given the full reasons for the deprivation decision and the case can be heard in the absence of the appellant or any legal representative appointed by the appellant.59 This is a significant deviation from international legal provisions, including Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 14 of the ICCPR. Legal experts indicate that, in practice, this secrecy makes it very difficult to challenge deprivation decisions.60 In addition, SIAC’s ability to review deprivation decisions is limited. The UK Supreme Court confirmed in R (Begum) v. SIAC that SIAC can only review the reasonableness of the HS’s decision and may not assess for itself whether deprivation was ‘conducive to the public good’. 45. Third, we are concerned that, in practice, the right to appeal is often not enforceable as many deprivation decisions are taken when the person has travelled outside of the UK. 61 It is much more difficult for those outside the UK to access legal representation and provide evidence to challenge a deprivation decision before UK courts. As a result of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Begum, a person deprived of nationality does not necessarily have a right to return to the UK to challenge the deprivation. This is so even where the person deprived cannot mount an effective appeal from outside of the UK. As a result, we are deeply concerned that the right to appeal against a deprivation decision is rendered purely illusory in many cases. Government proposals to expand powers under Clause 9, Nationality and Borders Bill 46. If enacted, Clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders Bill 62 would empower the HS to deprive a person of their British nationality without giving them notice in a range of circumstances. This would mean that a person may not even be aware that their nationality has been stripped from them, creating a greater risk that deprivations of nationality resulting in statelessness, or based on discriminatory grounds, will go unchallenged and unremedied. 47. People cannot appeal against decisions they are unaware of and, by the time someone finds out about a decision taken well in advance, it may be far more difficult for them to appeal, for example because crucial evidence has been lost due to the passage of time or because the person is in a more precarious or dangerous situation. With respect to the latter situation, this is exactly the case for women deprived of their British citizenship whilst detained in camps in northeast Syria. 48. On 28 February 2022, the House of Lords voted against the inclusion of Clause 9 in the Nationality and Borders Bill, reflecting the serious concern about its damaging and disproportionate nature among crucial decision makers.63 However, on 22 March 2022, the House of Commons voted the House of Lords amendment down.64 Thus, at the time this submission is made, it is unclear whether Clause 9 will be enacted into UK law. Avoidance of statelessness 59 The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Procedure) Rules 2003, SI 2003/1034, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/421503/Consolidated_text_of_SIAC_ Rules_2003.pdf. 60 https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/THE-OUSELEY-REVIEW-SAs-Submission-FINAL.pdf. 61 Ibid; Alice Ross & Patrick Galey, ‘Rise in citizenship-stripping as government cracks down on UK fighters in Syria’ Bureau of Investigative Journalism (23 December 2013): of the 37 deprivation orders issued between 2010 and 2013, all but two were issued whilst the individual was abroad. 62 Nationality and Borders Bill’ (2021) UK Government, available at: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3023. 63 ‘Nationality and Borders Bill: Volume 819: debated on Monday 28 February 2022’, available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2022-02-28/debates/DB808D67-CC61-45F1-8D46-B14B42CBB2E9/NationalityAndBordersBill. 64 ‘Nationality and Borders Bill: Volume 711: debated on Tuesday 22 March 2022, available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-03-22/debates/FA4FBF36-5168-4B9B-8C7E-09D2AAC33C39/NationalityAndBordersBill. 10