Deprivation of nationality Introduction The most elaborate set of international standards concerning deprivation of nationality is contained in the 1961 Convention. Article 8(1) sets out the basic rule that a Contracting State shall not deprive a person of his or her nationality if such deprivation would render him or her stateless. Paragraphs 2 and 3 then enumerate an exhaustive set of grounds on which States may deprive a person of nationality. These are: • When nationality was obtained by misrepresentation or fraud (Article 8(2)(b)) • When a “person has, in disregard of an express prohibition by the Contracting State rendered or continued to render services to, or received or continued to receive emoluments from, another State” (Article 8(3)(a)(i)). • When a person “has conducted himself in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the State” (Article 8(3)(a)(ii)). When a person “has taken an oath or made a formal declaration of allegiance to another State, or given definite evidence of his determination to repudiate his allegiance to the Contracting State” (Article 8(3)(b)). Importantly, according to the 1961 Convention, these grounds of deprivation may only be relied upon under three conditions. First, the power to deprive can only be exercised “in accordance with law, which shall provide for the person concerned the right to a fair hearing by a court or other independent body” (Article 8(4)). Second, the policy or practice of deprivation cannot be based “on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds” (Article 9). Finally, the right to deprive according to the permissible grounds mentioned above may only be exercised by States which, “at the time of ratification, signature or accession” to the Convention, specified their retention of such a right pursuant to existing domestic law (Article 8(3)). State law and practice in the decades immediately following the negotiation of the 1961 Convention suggested a growing consensus that deprivation of nationality should be avoided where such action would result in statelessness. Accordingly, the ECN, which is binding on 21 members of the Council of Europe, further limits the grounds for deprivation to instances where a person has acquired nationality “by means of fraudulent conduct, false information or concealment of any relevant fact attributable to the applicant”.74 That is, the ECN does not allow deprivation of nationality, even on grounds permitted by Article 8(3) of the 1961 Convention (see above), when it would render a person stateless. The ECN also explicitly codifies, in its Article 4(b), the principle of avoidance of statelessness. The ECN also elaborates on standards introduced in the 1961 Convention with regard to due process and non-discrimination. Articles 10 – 13 of the ECN establish norms on minimum procedural guarantees, including requirements that any decisions on nationality 74 European convention on nationality, Art. 7. 29