Britons are applying for Irish citizenship to get an EU passport. Is this a problem?

Posted onJanuary 23, 2017April 21, 2023

Since the Brexit vote, many British citizens have sought citizenship in other EU member states – notably Ireland – on the basis of ancestry or other provisions, often without any intention of living there. Should we welcome this development? Or is it problematic that people can claim citizenship on the basis of ancestry, especially if large numbers do so? Iseult Honohan argues that while extending the right to citizenship down multiple generations is a questionable step, problems will only really arise if citizens who have never lived in the country are given equal voting power.

The outcome of Italy’s referendum may be decided in Castelnuovo di Porto

Posted onNovember 28, 2016April 21, 2023

Many Italian citizens living outside the country will have the opportunity to vote in the constitutional referendum on 4 December. But what impact could these votes have in shaping the result? Lorenzo Piccoli highlights that with voters outside Italy accounting for around 8 per cent of the electorate, the count at the Civil Protection Centre in Castelnuovo di Porto, where the expatriate ballots are delivered, could be crucial in determining the outcome.

Beyond Brexit: Scotland could be given a special status on immigration

Posted onNovember 15, 2016October 7, 2020

The free movement of people played an important role in the EU referendum campaign and it has been widely discussed as an aspect of the future negotiation package during the months since then. From an EU law perspective, it is part of the package of ‘four freedoms’ that make up the single market: goods, services, capital and people.

Universal suffrage for Brussels? Why foreigners need to be given the vote at regional elections and how this can be achieved.

Posted onOctober 18, 2016June 8, 2017

Isn’t it about time that universal suffrage was introduced in Brussels? Don’t we already have it? We don’t. Here are the facts.

Over a third of the Brussels population is disenfranchised

Very roughly, the population of the Brussels-Capital region, one of the three regions of the Belgian federal

Exclusion of whistleblowers, conflicting eligibility rules and strategic naturalisations – why it is time to change Olympic eligibility rules now

Posted onAugust 5, 2016April 21, 2023

In these last days before the Rio Olympics opening ceremony, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and its ad hoc divisions are faced with an immense workload, dealing with matters ranging from alleged doping to issues of nationality.

Biao v. Denmark: Discrimination among nationals

Posted onJuly 12, 2016April 21, 2023

On 24 May 2016, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued the Biao judgment about discrimination among nationals in family reunion matters. The court ruled (with 12 votes against 5) that there had been a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) article 14 read in conjunction with article 8.

Why citizenship (still) matters in France

Posted onApril 11, 2016April 20, 2023

In the wake of the November 13 terrorist attack, French president François Hollande decided to reinforce France’s security legislation. In addition to a raft of police and intelligence measures, he proposed two major constitutional revisions: the first was to “constitutionalize” the state of emergency, previously an ad hoc piece of legislation; the second was to formalize the conditions under which French citizens can be stripped of their nationality.

Prisoner voting: now a matter of EU law

Posted onOctober 16, 2015April 21, 2023

Article 39(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights provides:

‘Members of the European Parliament shall be elected by direct universal suffrage in a free and secret ballot.’

In its brief and rather low key judgment in Delvigne (Case C-650/13; ECLI:EU:C:2015:648), which was handed down on 6 October 2015, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice has put flesh on the bones of this provision.

The ‘Brexit’ Referendum: We Need to Talk about the (General Election) Franchise

Posted onOctober 8, 2015April 21, 2023

In its 27 May 2015 Queen’s speech, the Conservative government announced that ‘early legislation will be introduced to provide for an in/out referendum’. The following day, it introduced the European Union Referendum Bill, which passed its third reading in the House of Commons on 7 September 2015 (by 316 votes to 53).

Banishment, Australian style

Posted onSeptember 23, 2015April 21, 2023

Motivated by the emergence of “home-grown” terrorism and the prospect that Australian citizens joining terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq may return to Australia, the Australian government (like many others) is seeking greater powers to revoke citizenship.

Globalcit

Blog

Britons are applying for Irish citizenship to get an EU passport. Is this a problem?

The outcome of Italy’s referendum may be decided in Castelnuovo di Porto

Beyond Brexit: Scotland could be given a special status on immigration

Universal suffrage for Brussels? Why foreigners need to be given the vote at regional elections and how this can be achieved.

Exclusion of whistleblowers, conflicting eligibility rules and strategic naturalisations – why it is time to change Olympic eligibility rules now

Biao v. Denmark: Discrimination among nationals

Why citizenship (still) matters in France

Prisoner voting: now a matter of EU law

The ‘Brexit’ Referendum: We Need to Talk about the (General Election) Franchise

Banishment, Australian style

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