120. Deprivation of nationality for the purpose of national security must never be automatic by
operation of the law. This follows from the standards and commentary provided in Principle 7.5,
as these demonstrate that any decision on deprivation of nationality in a national security context
requires an individual assessment of the situation of the person concerned and should therefore
never be automatic. At EU level, the CJEU has held that loss of nationality under the operation of
Member States’ law is possible, but is subject to competent national authorities’ examination,
including of national courts where appropriate, of the consequences of the loss of that
nationality.212
121. The individual concerned must be notified of the intent to deprive nationality prior to the actual
decision to do so, to ensure that the person concerned is able to provide facts, arguments, and
evidence in defence of their case, which are to be taken into account by the relevant authority as
a basic feature of due process and in view of Article 14(3) of the ICCPR. Similarly, a person whose
nationality has been withdrawn should not be deprived of the opportunity to enter and remain in
that country in order to participate in-person for legal proceedings related to that decision.
122. In line with Article 9 of the 1961 Convention, decisions on deprivation of nationality must be
individual, as opposed to collective. In fact, “where withdrawal of nationality is linked to past
persecution against a particular group within the society of a State, the State is encouraged to
implement a simple, non-discretionary application procedure for individuals from this group to
re-acquire nationality. 213 Article 9 obliges States to not deprive any person or group of persons
of their nationality on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds. As the Tunis Conclusions
demonstrate, the decision to deprive persons of their nationality needs to be made individually
for each person involved. This is clear from the terms used in Article “a person , “the person
of the 1961 Convention and also from the requirement in paragraph 4 of that Article “each
individual is to be afforded a fair hearing . Indeed, if two spouses acquired nationality on the
basis of one naturalization decree, separate deprivation decisions have to be made for each.214
123. In view of Principle 5 above, States have the obligation not to render any person stateless through
deprivation of nationality. As such, the obligation is on the competent authorities of the depriving
State to ensure and prove that the person concerned holds another nationality. The latter can be
practically ensured by the State concerned securing confirmation of nationality from another
State.
124. Individuals must be notified in writing of the decision to deprive nationality and of the reasons
underlying the decision. This must be done so in a prompt manner and in a language that they
understand in keeping with Article 14(3)(a) ICCPR. Similar norms are found in the ECN. According
to Article 10 ECN, States must ensure that applications relating to the loss of its nationality are
processed within a reasonable time. Furthermore, Article 11 ECN says States need to assure that
decisions relating to loss of its nationality contain reasons in writing. Furthermore, the ECtHR has
held that States must act “diligently and swiftly to avoid arbitrariness.215 All decisions on loss and
212
CJEU, M.G. Tjebbes and Others v Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken (2019), Case C-221/17, para. 48.
UNHRC Guidelines No 5 (2020), para 108.
214
UNHCR, ’Tunis Conclusions‘
, para. 61.
215 ECtHR, K2 v United Kingdom (2017), Application no. 42387/13, para. 50.
213
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