Patrícia Jerónimo Act. The Timorese Constitution adopts ius sanguinis without any restrictions. Every child of a Timorese is a Timorese citizen. The Constitution does not require that the birth be registered at the Central Registry Office, if occurred in Timor-Leste, nor at the nearest Timorese consular post, if occurred abroad. It also does not require that the children of Timorese parent(s) born abroad make a declaration of their wish to be Timorese citizens. Therefore, any registrations or declarations required by ordinary legislation from children of Timorese parent(s) born in Timor-Leste or abroad can only be admitted for their evidentiary value and not as a condition for the attribution of Timorese citizenship. Otherwise, they will not pass constitutional muster. That is the case with Article 18 (1) and (2) of the Nationality Act, which requires that all births which determine the attribution of Timorese citizenship be registered in the Central Registry Office or in the Timorese Civil Registry. The birth registration proves the citizenship by birth of individuals born in Timor-Leste to a Timorese father or mother, provided that said registration does not include ‘any mention to the contrary’, i.e. the information that none of the parents is Timorese [Article 23 (1) of the Nationality Act]. Similarly, for individuals born abroad to a Timorese parent, it is the birth registration, lodged with the Timorese Civil Registry, or, alternatively, the baptism certificate, that prove their Timorese citizenship by birth [Article 23 (2) of the Nationality Act].116 It is important to note, however, that Article 23 (2) of the Nationality Act also mentions, as possible proof of the Timorese citizenship of individuals born abroad, ‘the registration of the declaration upon which its attribution is dependent’. The attribution of citizenship by birth to children born abroad to a Timorese parent is not dependent upon any declaration. This mention to a declaration suggests confusion on the part of the legislator between the cases of birth in the territory to a foreign parent with the cases of birth abroad to a Timorese parent [Article 3 (2) (c) and (3) of the Constitution]. This mention is entirely inconsistent with the Constitution and is therefore invalid. Also problematic from this perspective is the phrasing of Article 6 of the Nationality Regulation, which suggests that the birth registration in the Timorese Civil Registry is a precondition for the attribution of Timorese citizenship by birth to children born abroad to a Timorese parent. Under the heading ‘citizenship declaration’, Article 6 (1) reads: ‘The children born abroad to a Timorese father or mother who want to be attributed Timorese citizenship must register their birth in the Timorese Civil Registry, by means of a declaration submitted by themselves, when capable, or by their legal representatives, when incapable’. While it is clear that Article 3 (3) of the Constitution does not require registrations nor declarations for the attribution of citizenship by birth, questions may still arise regarding the interpretation of the term ‘Timorese’, in the absence of a time reference or another qualification which may help identify who is to be considered as Timorese so that his or her children may be attributed Timorese citizenship by birth under this provision. It may be content/uploads/2010/03/Constitution_RDTL_ENG.pdf [25.01.2017]. The most likely explanation for this is that the translation was made based on an earlier version of the constitutional text. Less easy to explain is why the Timorese authorities have not replaced it for an accurate version yet. Anyway, since the two sub-paragraphs do not appear in the Portuguese and Tetum versions of the Constitution as it was published in the Official Journal (Jornal da República, Series I, no. 1, of 4 June 2003), they are of no legal value. 116 Article 5 of the Nationality Regulation specifies that the birth registrations of children born abroad to a Timorese father or a mother who is abroad in the service of Timor-Leste must include a special mention to this circumstance as an identification element of the child [subparagraph (1)]. The person declaring the birth must present a document attesting the Timorese citizenship of one of the parents [Article 5 (2)], unless the parent is identified in the registration, in a special mention, as a Timorese diplomatic or consular official, or unless the registry official has official knowledge that the parent is abroad in the service of Timor-Leste [Article 5 (3)]. As mentioned a propos Article 2 (3) and (4), these specifications are mere formalities, since Timorese diplomats have exactly the same right to pass on their Timorese citizenship to their offspring as any other Timorese citizen abroad. 28 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2017/7 - © 2017 Author