that: “A State shall not make its national an alien, by deprivation of nationality, for the sole
purpose of expelling him or her .245
145. Furthermore, the prohibition is also related to the right of individuals to enter and remain in their
own country.246 It was stated by the HRC in General Comment No. 27 that “liberty of movement
is an indispensable condition for the free development of a person .247 As such, it is every person’s
prerogative to enter, remain in, and return to their own country, regardless of whether or not
they have been stripped of their nationality. Under no circumstance may a person be arbitrarily
deprived of their right to enter, return and remain in their own country. Most importantly, this
right implies that States are not permitted under international law to, by depriving a person of
their nationality, violate their right to remain in their own country or prevent them from returning
to their own country. In General Comment No. , the HRC stated that “a State Party most not,
by stripping a person of nationality or by expelling an individual to a third country, arbitrarily
prevent this person from returning to his or her own country .248 This means that by depriving a
person of their nationality and expelling them as a result, a State is, by definition, arbitrarily
denying that person the right to return and remain in theirown country, amounting to a violation
of international law. This is further articulated by Article 8 of the ILC Draft Articles on the Expulsion
of Aliens, which provides that “a State shall not make its national an alien, by deprivation of
nationality, for the sole purpose of expelling him or her .
146. The rights contained in this Principle can be exercised even by those who have been deprived of
a nationality, as is in line with the definition of ‘one’s own country’. The concept of ‘one’s own
country’ is not synonymous with the concept of ‘one’s country of nationality’, but rather is
broader in scope. According to the HRC, “it embraces, at the very least, an individual who, because
of his or her special ties to or claims in relation to a given country, cannot be considered a mere
alien .249 This means that the concept also applies to nationals who have been stripped of their
nationality, as they can have special ties to the country whose nationality they have been deprived
of. According to the HRC in Nystrom v. Australia:
“[…] there are factors other than nationality which may establish close and enduring
connections between a person and a country, connections which may be stronger than those
of nationality. The words ‘his own country’ invite consideration of such matters as long standing
residence, close personal and family ties and intentions to remain, as well as to the absence of
such ties elsewhere.”250
In accordance with this Principle, dual nationals should not be expelled from ‘their own country’.
If they are deprived of the nationality of the country which is ‘their own country’ due to ‘close and
245
These Draft Articles were welcomed by the UN General Assembly in Resolution 69/119 of 10 December 2014 (UN Doc A/RES/69/119). See
also the preparatory work of the International Law Commission in which it was agreed that “States should not use denationalization as a means
of circumventing their obligations under the principle of the non-expulsion of aliens . Emphasis added, Yearbook of the International Law
Commission 2008 Volume II Part Two, Chapter VIII, para. 171.
246
On the existing framework of corollary and related rights, see J.-M. Henckaerts, Mass Expulsion in Modern International Law and Practice
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
p. , as well as L. Sohn and T. Buergenthal, ‘The Movement of Persons Across Borders’ ASIL Studies in
Transnational Legal Policy No. 23 (1992), pp. 85-86.
247 Human Rights Committee, ‘General Comment No.
: Freedom of movement article
’
CCPR C
Rev. Add. , para. .
248 Human Rights Committee, ‘General Comment No.
’
CCPR C
Rev. Add. , para. .
249
Human Rights Committee, ‘General Comment No. ’
CCPR C
Rev. Add. , para. .
250 Human Rights Committee, Nystrom v Australia, Communication no. 1557/2007 (18 July 2011) CCPR/C/102/D/1557/2007, para. 7.4.
72
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