Deprivation of nationality under article 8 (3) of the 1961 Convention on the reduction of statelessness

Abstract

In the international community, there is a continuing trend to deprive citizens of their nationality for certain undesirable behaviour. The 1961 Convention prohibits this practice in cases where the individual concerned would become stateless as a consequence. However, State Parties can reserve certain exceptions to this prohibition by filing a declaration under Article 8 (3) at the time of ratification. This article aims to conduct a thorough analysis and a critical reflection of the declarations of ratifying States of the 1961 Convention submitted under Article 8 (3) of the Convention. This approach includes a quantitative analysis of the submitted declarations against the background of recent geopolitical events, which will show an absolute, yet not a proportional rise, of declarations submitted under Article 8 (3). An analysis of the legality of the submitted declarations as well as a discussion of the corresponding national provisions will be conducted. Furthermore, an evaluation of the reaction of other Contracting States to the submitted declarations will demonstrate serious shortcomings in the due diligence of Contracting States, arguing that a double-standard is applied to declarations submitted under Article 8(3) by Western Contracting States in comparison to the treatment of Contracting States from the Islamic World.