THEMATIC BRIEFING | JULY 2021 Deprivation of nationality and the prevention of statelessness in Europe 11 all previous nationalities, Austria decides to revoke the grant of naturalisation because the individual no longer fulfils the conditions for acquisition. A case is currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union, which scrutinises the compatibility of this practice with EU law.40 Insufficient safeguards regarding family members In some Index countries, such as Poland and Austria, safeguards to prevent statelessness arising from voluntary loss of nationality are insufficient because they do not adequately address the situation of family members (see Section 8 Discrimination). 7. DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY AS A NATIONAL SECURITY MEASURE International framework International norms and good practice require States to avoid using deprivation of nationality on grounds of national security. If States resort to deprivation powers for the purposes of safeguarding national security, the measures should be interpreted and exercised narrowly, only after a lawful conviction that meets international standards of due process and fair trial and provided that the person has conducted themselves in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the State.41 In any event, such powers should not make individuals stateless and should not discriminate between individuals according to their route to nationality. There should be no arbitrary deprivation of nationality, individuals must have access to a fair trial, including remedies and reparation, and other international obligations must be respected.42 Good practice Individuals should not be deprived of their nationality on national security grounds, but only around a third of Index countries demonstrate good practice in this area. Croatia, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Ukraine, and Serbia do not have any provisions in their legal frameworks to deprive people of their nationality on national security grounds. Risk of statelessness arising from deprivation of nationality on national security grounds Expansion of State powers A majority of Index countries allow for deprivation on national security grounds. In some States, such as France and the UK, these powers have existed in law for many years. However, in most countries, deprivation of nationality on grounds of national security has been introduced (or modified) recently to address the phenomenon of their nationals allegedly travelling abroad to participate in terrorist activities. Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK have all amended their legislation since 2010 to make it easier for the competent