Citizenship as a Constitutional Right and a Fundamental Condition for Exercising Diplomatic Protection

Abstract

This work is aimed at specifying how citizenship is obtained and what people with dual citizenship and people with no citizenship should do in their case. Citizenship is a fundamental right of individuals for the reason that in some cases it is the basis for enjoying other rights related to citizenship. Whether a given state of citizenship should claim or not diplomatic protection in case of dual citizenship against another state of citizenship is not just a case of academic interest. It may cause practical problems in a world where people leave their country in search of more freedom and rights. As a general rule, in case of dual citizenship, both countries of citizenship are entitled to have claims against a third country in the name of the concerned citizen. In international law, the diplomatic protection offered to individuals that reside in a given territory under the protection of a country that exercises no sovereignty over such territory is a familiar issue. Individuals living in protectorates, mandates or territories under custody have occasionally received diplomatic protection by the managing authorities; however, this practice is somehow limited by the institutional relation between the managed country and the managing one, and in every case it depends on the country against which such a protection is to be exercised. I have employed theoretical and empirical research methods for examining real cases.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n2p417