![]() | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United Kingdom and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(July 2021) |
The Master Nationality Rule is a consequence of Article 4 of the Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws of 1930, a treaty ratified by twenty-three parties. [1] This provides that "a State may not afford diplomatic protection to one of its nationals against a state whose nationality such person also possesses". [2]
In terms of practical effect, it means that when a multiple citizen is in the country of one of his or her nationalities, that country has the right to treat that person as if he or she were solely a citizen or national of that country. This includes the right to impose military service obligations, or to require an exit permit to leave. [3]
Professor Eileen Denza states that the rule is a codification of a "classic rule", and as of 2018, remains "modern state practice" internationally. The International Law Commission 2006 draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection in general reaffirmed the rule. [4]
The United Kingdom Home Office gave a detailed explanation of the rule:
Commonly known as the "Master Nationality Rule", the practical effect of this Article is that where a person is a national of, for example, two States (A and B), and is in the territory of State A, then State B has no right to claim that person as its national or to intervene on that person's behalf. Such a person who goes into the territory of a third state may be treated as a national of either A or B – it does not normally matter which one, except, for example, where the courts of the third state have to adjudicate upon matters relating to that person's status and the relevant laws depend on the person's nationality. In such cases, it is necessary to choose an effective nationality (i.e. one of the two nationalities is selected as effective for the purposes of the third state). [5]
The United Kingdom Foreign Office restated this in its advice to dual citizens abroad, stating it "would not normally offer you support or get involved in dealings between you and the authorities of that state." [6] The United Kingdom may still make informal diplomatic representations to the authorities of another country when a British citizen is held in another country, even if that person is also a citizen of that country, in case of special humanitarian needs, [7] such as the intervention made by then UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond during the Causeway Bay Books Disappearances.
During the Cold War era, the United States signed consular agreements with certain Warsaw Pact countries providing that a U.S. citizen who entered that country with a U.S. passport and the appropriate visa would not be subsequently treated as a citizen of that country (and hence prevented from leaving). [8] The Warsaw Pact countries involved (notably Poland) wished to encourage tourism from emigrants and their descendants settled in the U.S. Since the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991, many of those countries have abolished visa requirements for U.S. citizens thus nullifying those provisions (for detailed discussion see under Dual citizenship in Poland).
Australia,[ citation needed ] Canada, [9] and the United States [10] have concluded similar consular agreements with the People's Republic of China.
In 2006, the International Law Commission adopted draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection, largely codifying established practice, which in general reaffirmed the rule. However it sought to ease the strictness of traditional practice with a proposal that where the nationality of a protecting state is "predominant", diplomatic protection may be given. These draft Articles have not been submitted to a conference to formalize them into a treaty. The draft Article 7 states: [4]
A State of nationality may not exercise diplomatic protection in respect of a person against a State of which that person is also a national unless the nationality of the former State is predominant, both at the date of injury and at the date of the official presentation of the claim. [11]
Eileen Denza, Professor of International Law at University College London and a former Legal Adviser in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, states that the rule is a codification of a "classic rule", and as of 2018, remains "modern state practice" internationally. [4] [12] [13]
James Larry Taulbee and Gerhard von Glahn, in their 2022 U.S. legal textbook, write that regarding the underlying Articles 3 to 6 of the Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality: "states today in practice follow almost all of those provisions, despite the absence of general conventional rules." They do not use the name "Master Nationality Rule", but explicitly give a summary of the rule. [14]
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes an embassy or high commission, which is the main office of a country's diplomatic representatives to another country; it is usually, but not necessarily, based in the receiving state's capital city. Consulates, on the other hand, are smaller diplomatic missions that are normally located in major cities of the receiving state. As well as being a diplomatic mission to the country in which it is situated, an embassy may also be a nonresident permanent mission to one or more other countries.
Nationality is the status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among governments through a uniform set of practices and principles; most notably, it codifies the longstanding custom of diplomatic immunity, in which diplomatic missions are granted privileges that enable diplomats to perform their functions without fear of coercion or harassment by the host country. The Vienna Convention is a cornerstone of modern international relations and international law and is almost universally ratified and observed; it is considered one of the most successful legal instruments drafted under the United Nations.
Nationality law is the law of a sovereign state, and of each of its jurisdictions, that defines the legal manner in which a national identity is acquired and how it may be lost. In international law, the legal means to acquire nationality and formal membership in a nation are separated from the relationship between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Some nations domestically use the terms interchangeably, though by the 20th century, nationality had commonly come to mean the status of belonging to a particular nation with no regard to the type of governance which established a relationship between the nation and its people. In law, nationality describes the relationship of a national to the state under international law and citizenship describes the relationship of a citizen within the state under domestic statutes. Different regulatory agencies monitor legal compliance for nationality and citizenship. A person in a country of which he or she is not a national is generally regarded by that country as a foreigner or alien. A person who has no recognised nationality to any jurisdiction is regarded as stateless.
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between sovereign states. It codifies many consular practices that originated from state custom and various bilateral agreements between states.
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Austrian nationality law details the conditions by which an individual is a national of Austria. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Law, which came into force on 31 July 1985.
Diplomatic law is that area of international law that governs permanent and temporary diplomatic missions. A fundamental concept of diplomatic law is that of diplomatic immunity, which derives from state immunity.
Polish nationality law is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis. Children born to at least one Polish parent acquire Polish citizenship irrespective of place of birth. Besides other things, Polish citizenship entitles the person to a Polish passport.
Slovenian nationality law is based primarily on the principles of jus sanguinis, in that descent from a Slovenian parent is the primary basis for acquisition of Slovenian citizenship. However, although children born to foreign parents in Slovenia do not acquire Slovenian citizenship on the basis of birthplace, place of birth is relevant for determining whether the child of Slovenian parents acquires citizenship.
Nationality law of Greece is based on the principle of jus sanguinis. Greek citizenship may be acquired by descent or through naturalization. Greek law permits dual citizenship. A Greek national is a citizen of the European Union, and therefore entitled to the same rights as other EU citizens.
In international law, diplomatic protection is a means for a state to take diplomatic and other action against another state on behalf of its national whose rights and interests have been injured by that state. Diplomatic protection, which has been confirmed in different cases of the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Court of Justice, is a discretionary right of a state and may take any form that is not prohibited by international law. It can include consular action, negotiations with the other state, political and economic pressure, judicial or arbitral proceedings or other forms of peaceful dispute settlement.
The Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is a 1961 United Nations multilateral treaty whereby sovereign states agree to reduce the incidence of statelessness. The Convention was originally intended as a Protocol to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, while the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was adopted to cover stateless persons who are not refugees and therefore not within the scope of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Estonian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person is a citizen of Estonia. The primary law currently governing these requirements is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on 1 April 1995.
The Latvian nationality law is based on the Citizenship Law of 1994. Before 2020, it was primarily based on jus sanguinis.
The Romanian nationality law addresses specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between Romania and the individual. Romanian nationality law is based on jus sanguinis. Current citizenship policy in Romania is in accordance with the Romanian Citizenship Law, which was adopted by the Romanian Parliament on March 6, 1991, and the Constitution of Romania, which was adopted on November 21, 1991.
Multiple citizenship is a person's legal status in which a person is at the one time recognized by more than one country under its nationality and citizenship law as a national or citizen of that country. There is no international convention which determines the nationality or citizenship status of a person, which is consequently determined exclusively under national laws, that often conflict with each other, thus allowing for multiple citizenship situations to arise.
The Lexington Principles on the Rights of Detainees is a body of international due process principles that reflect the prevailing transnational norms in the area of detainee treatment. The Lexington Principles were completed and published on April 1, 2009. The instrument consists of 45 principles and countless annotations prepared by the project's law student editorial board. A primary purpose of the drafters of the Lexington Principles was to assist the jurisprudential evolution of American constitutional due process standards after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene v. Bush. While each Principle is based on international law, all provisions have been drafted to facilitate vertical norm internalization into the domestic legal system of the United States and other common law countries.
Slovak nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Slovak citizenship. The Citizenship Act is a law enacted by the National Council of Slovakia in regard to the nationality law following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. In 2010, it was controversially amended, enacting loss of Slovak citizenship upon naturalization elsewhere. This was said to have affected the 2012 election to some degree.
The Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws was a League of Nations convention adopted during the League of Nations Codification Conference, 1930 in The Hague. It was signed by many states, but ratified by only twenty-three.