A view in the UAE Nationality Law

December 29, 2011

Introduction:

A widespread debate has been stated extensively regarding the validity of the decision to withdraw or drop the nationality of the UAE seven citizens. The ongoing dispute is not on the legal materials contained in the Nationality Law and UAE passports. But it is concentrating on the interpretation of these materials and their applicability to the current cases as well as lack of awareness of many of the non-professionals of the importance of required procedures for the implementation of any law, and that the lack of application of these procedures gradually with proper and ways dates, and provided by the law itself, makes it imperative to occur in the category of invalidity, and makes it subject to be appealed. Thus the decision becomes as it was released due to wrong procedures.

Nationality:

The base is that the nationality is a legal status stick to the citizen who gets it by the provisions of law and constitution. All the authorities of the state should keep and protect that right the same as the territory of its land.

In the light of this basic right, it shouldn’t be an assessment by any authority or person to designate someone as “an Emirati citizen” or to deprive him of this right according to the rule of law.

On top of Constitutional laws of the United Arab Emirates, which sets the basic provisions of the nationality issue of which can not be overcome in any way. This could be shown in Article (8) of the Constitution:

“The citizens of the Union shall have a single nationality which shall be prescribed by law. When abroad, they shall enjoy the protection of the Union Government in accordance with accepted international principals. No citizen of the Union may be deprived of his nationality nor may his nationality be withdrawn save in exceptional circumstances which shall be defined by Law. "

To differentiate between de jure citizenship and nationality by naturalization:

A citizen by virtue of the law:

1 - Arab endemic in the UAE since 1925 and before.

2 - Born for a father citizen.

3 - Born for a mother citizen by virtue of the law and did not prove lineage to his father.

4 - Born for a mother citizen by virtue of law and the father is unknown or has no nationality.

5 - Born in the country to unknown parents.

May be granted nationality (citizenship by naturalization) to the following categories:

1 – An Arab person from Oman, Qatar or Bahrain if the stays in the country continuously for three years and under certain conditions.

2 - Members of Arab tribes from neighboring countries who have resided continuously 3 years and under certain conditions.

3 - Any Arab country person who has resided for seven years and under certain conditions.

4 - Any person living in the UAE since 1940, or before and under certain conditions.

5 - To anyone who lived 30 years in the state, including 20 years under the Citizenship Act and under certain conditions.

6 – To anyone provided services to the country without being restricted to terms set forth in the preceding articles

(See in this the Nationality Law and passport number (17) for the year 1972)

To differentiate between the withdrawal of nationality and dropping the nationality:

First of all we talk about the provisions of the law of nationality and passports, law No. (17) and of the year 1972, this law shows the causes of dropping or withdrawal of nationality.

In the deprivation of citizenship:

Article (15) of the UAE Nationality Act:

“The nationality of the State is deprived in the following cases:

A - If he is engaged in military service to a foreign country without permission from the state and he is ordered to leave the service and but he refused to do so.

B - If he works for the benefit of an enemy state.

C - If he selected to be a national of foreign country. "

The text shows that dropping the nationality is an issue that is used as a punishment against the citizen as a result of acts that would harm the security of the country that the legislature decides how serious towards the nation.

In the withdrawal of nationality:

Article (16) of the UAE Nationality Act:

Withdraw the citizenship of naturalized citizens in the following cases:

1 - If he jeopardizes the security and the integrity of the state or proceeded to do so.

2 - If he is sentenced disgraceful repeated offenses.

3 - If he was granted the citizenship using fraud data.

4 - If he stays outside the State on an ongoing basis and without justification for more than four years and it may consequently be withdrawn from his wife and minor children.

These articles determine that the withdrawal of nationality is a punishment against the citizen as a result of harming land or the place where he is endemic and the naturalization of nationality is supposed to respect the laws and regulations.

Legal form of the decision to withdraw nationality:

Article 20 of the Nationality Act reads, “The nationality is granted by the decree upon the proposal of the Minister of Interior and the consent of the Council of Ministers and is dropped following the same procedures."

The law set a specific way to grant, drop or withdraw the citizenship. It requires certain procedures to do this. It requires at first that the Minister of Interior presents a proposal includes a conviction of the citizen to withdrawn or drop his nationality, and this is not obtained, of course, but only after the availability of fair trial that ends with a final and unquestionable judgment which clearly states the explicit condemnation of the charges contained in the terms of the withdrawal or dropping of nationality. After that we must get the approval of the Cabinet and then subsequently attached to the President for decision.

The decision must be ratified by the President of the Union. This decree does not apply unless it has been published within two weeks from the date signed and issued by him.

Article (114) of the Constitution:

“No decree may be issued unless the Council of Ministers has confirmed it and the resident of the Union or the Supreme Council, according to their powers, has ratified it. Decrees shall be published in the Official Gazette after signature by the President of the Union."

Suspicion of sovereign decision:

The UAE constitutional and normal legislator tends not to state getting certain acts out of state courts and the judiciary, as acts of rounds of legislative authority, which are unique and shouldn’t be commented on be anyone.

The legal system of the United Arab Emirates does not contain any constitutional or legislative provisions which state the acts of the sovereign, not in the Constitution of the Federal State, and not in the law of the federal judiciary.

And on the assumption that there was an application on acts of sovereignty on the ground, it would be better to list these acts in a specific way. Due to the absence of such thing in the Constitution and the UAE law, the courts of the State do not comply with the description by which legislator designates these acts. They have the right to adapt the correct legal adjustment to such acts.

Building on this the judiciary should check the executive and legislative authorities' commitment to the decrees, resolutions and regulations of the provisions of the Constitution. Moreover, the judiciary should target to force these authorities to respect the individual rights and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. Consequently, it is unacceptable to exclude some acts such as the withdrawal or dropping the citizenship from the supervision of the judiciary under the pretext that it acts or acts of political sovereignty since the dropping or withdrawal of citizenship was legalized and organized by the constitution and the UAE law, therefore it cannot be decided without taking into accounts the stated articles in the constitution. Otherwise, it would be a way to violate all the laws in force under the pretext of sovereign acts and this is something that is not accepted at all and not correct with the principles of justice.