Nationality is the legal 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.
155-657: The primary law governing nationality of Ireland is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, which came into force on 17 July 1956. Ireland is a member state of the European Union (EU), and all Irish nationals are EU citizens . They are entitled to free movement rights in EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, and may vote in elections to the European Parliament . Irish citizens also have
310-499: A common law court system has trial courts , intermediate appellate courts and a supreme court . Thus, the lower courts are bound to obey precedent established by the appellate court for their jurisdiction, and all supreme court precedent. The Supreme Court of California 's explanation of this principle is that [u]nder the doctrine of stare decisis , all tribunals exercising inferior jurisdiction are required to follow decisions of courts exercising superior jurisdiction. Otherwise,
465-465: A consequence of these provisions. This statutory definition differed based on the type of business that a particular Act was regulating. For agriculture and banking, a person born overseas must have been resident in the Free State for at least five years before 1933 to qualify as an Irish national. However, when determining the amount of stamp duty to be levied on property transactions, an Irish national
620-517: A declaration of renunciation, provided that the declarant ordinarily resides overseas and already possesses or is in the process of obtaining another nationality. Renunciations cannot be made during wartime unless exceptionally approved by the Minister for Justice. Former citizens who were born on the island of Ireland may subsequently apply to reacquire citizenship. Previously naturalised individuals or those who had acquired citizenship by descent do not have
775-404: A determination as to the governing jurisdiction, a court is "bound" to follow a precedent of that jurisdiction only if it is directly in point. In the strongest sense, "directly in point" means that: (1) the question resolved in the precedent case is the same as the question to be resolved in the pending case, (2) resolution of that question was necessary to the disposition of the precedent case; (3)
930-541: A different three-judge panel. In federal systems the division between federal and state law may result in complex interactions. In the United States, state courts are not considered inferior to federal courts but rather constitute a parallel court system. In practice, however, judges in one system will almost always choose to follow relevant case law in the other system to prevent divergent results and to minimize forum shopping . Precedent that must be applied or followed
1085-533: A direct path to citizenship restoration and must complete the naturalisation process to regain Irish citizenship. Citizenship may be involuntarily removed from naturalised persons who fraudulently acquired the status, willfully perform an overt act that constitutes a breach of loyalty to the state, or holds citizenship of a country at war with the Republic. Naturalised persons, other than those of Irish descent or employed in
1240-750: A formal declaration. Foreign wives of male Irish citizens could register as citizens with no further requirements and citizenship became transferable by descent through mothers as well as fathers. Although children born overseas to foreign-born Irish citizens were still required to be registered in the Foreign Births Register to claim citizenship, registration was no longer subject to a time limit. Registered individuals were deemed to have been Irish citizens backdated to their date of birth, allowing their children born at any time to acquire citizenship as well. Foreign husbands of Irish citizens became eligible for citizenship by marriage with an amendment in 1986, but
1395-434: A government agency. Essential to the development of case law is the publication and indexing of decisions for use by lawyers, courts, and the general public, in the form of law reports . A precedent is a historical setting example for the future (though at varying levels of authority as discussed throughout this article), some become "leading cases" or "landmark decisions" that are cited especially often. Generally speaking,
1550-688: A higher court. In civil law and pluralist systems, as under Scots law , precedent is not binding but case law is taken into account by the courts. A court may consider the ruling of a higher court that is not binding. For example, a district court in the United States First Circuit could consider a ruling made by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as persuasive authority. Courts may consider rulings made in other courts that are of equivalent authority in
1705-644: A joint statement clarifying that the intent of the Good Friday Agreement was not to grant citizenship to persons unconnected to the country and that the proposed changes would not violate the existing agreement on Northern Ireland. Following a 2004 referendum, the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was enacted that made the entitlement to birthright citizenship for people without Irish parents dependent on legislation rather than
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#17328561855071860-426: A kind of super-stare decisis". The controversial idea that some decisions are virtually immune from being overturned, regardless of whether they were decided correctly in the first place, is the idea to which the term "super- stare decisis " now usually refers. The concept of super- stare decisis (or "super-precedent") was mentioned during the hearings of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito before
2015-408: A legal precedent may be: In contrast, civil law systems adhere to a legal positivism , where past decisions do not usually have the precedential, binding effect that they have in common law decision-making; the judicial review practiced by constitutional courts can be regarded as a notable exception. Stare decisis ( / ˈ s t ɛər r i d ɪ ˈ s aɪ s ɪ s , ˈ s t ɑː r eɪ / )
2170-734: A member after passage of the Ireland Act 1949 in the British Parliament. Irish citizens have since no longer been defined as British subjects in British law, although they continue to be treated as non-foreign in the United Kingdom and retain the same rights and privileges exercised by Commonwealth citizens; Irish citizens remain eligible to vote and stand for Parliament in the UK. Commonwealth citizens initially continued to hold free movement rights in both
2325-410: A national of a state, in the sense of being its citizen , without subjectively or emotionally feeling a part of that state, for example a migrant may identify with their ancestral and/or religious background rather than with the state of which they are citizens. Conversely, a person may feel that he belongs to one state without having any legal relationship to it. For example, children who were brought to
2480-522: A national of one state required rejecting the previous state. Dual nationality was considered a problem that caused a conflict between states and sometimes imposed mutually exclusive requirements on affected people, such as simultaneously serving in two countries' military forces. Through the middle of the 20th century, many international agreements were focused on reducing the possibility of dual nationality. Since then, many accords recognizing and regulating dual nationality have been formed. Statelessness
2635-545: A number of anomalous situations, including the inability for citizenship to be granted to foreigners resident in Ireland and foreign spouses of Irish citizens. By the end of the First World War , the other Dominions had exercised increasing levels of autonomy in managing their own affairs and each by then had developed a distinct national identity. Britain formally recognised this at the 1926 Imperial Conference , jointly issuing
2790-404: A person does not reside for a specified period of time, they can automatically lose their nationality. To protect those individuals from being deemed "stateless", the 1961 Statelessness Convention places limitations on nationality laws. The following list includes states in which parents are able to confer nationality on their children or spouses. Precedent Precedent
2945-548: A precedent is binding: In a conflict of laws situation, jus cogens norms erga omnes and principles of the common law such as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , to a varying degree in different jurisdictions, are deemed overriding which means they are used to "read down" legislation, that is giving them a particular purposive interpretation , for example applying European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence of courts ( case law ). "Super stare decisis "
3100-420: A rush among affected individuals to register before the new rules took effect. The sudden large volume of applications became impossible to process before the end of the year, resulting in some individuals losing their entitlement to citizenship from birth. A further amendment in 1994 allowed those who had applied during the transition period but did not have their applications processed in time to re-register under
3255-622: A similar distinction as well before 1983, where all nationals with a connection to the UK or one of the colonies were classified as Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies , but their rights were different depending on the connection under different laws, which was formalised into different classes of nationalities under the British Nationality Act 1981 . Nationality is sometimes used simply as an alternative word for ethnicity or national origin, just as some people assume that citizenship and nationality are identical. In some countries,
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#17328561855073410-486: A similar way, but are not obliged to do so and are required to consider the precedent in terms of principle. Their fellow judges' decisions may be persuasive but are not binding. Under the English legal system, judges are not necessarily entitled to make their own decisions about the development or interpretations of the law. They may be bound by a decision reached in a previous case. Two facts are crucial to determining whether
3565-677: A sort of binding precedent when they answer legal questions that a court has not, either form of opinion may act as a source of law if they have a direct effect on the administration of government. The courts of England and Wales are free to consider decisions of other jurisdictions, and give them whatever persuasive weight the English court sees fit, even though these other decisions are not binding precedent. Jurisdictions that are closer to modern English common law are more likely to be given persuasive weight (for example Commonwealth states such as Canada, Australia, or New Zealand). Persuasive weight might be given to other common law courts, such as from
3720-486: A three-year waiting period was introduced for applicants of either sex before eligible individuals could apply and couples were required to be living together in the same residence. Registration in the Foreign Births Register no longer makes citizenship effective from an applicant's date of birth but from the date of registration instead. The 1986 amendment provided for a six-month transition period ending on 31 December 1986 when registration continued to be backdated, triggering
3875-457: Is a court ruling that serves as an authoritative guide for resolving future cases with similar facts or legal issues. As a key aspect of stare decisis ("to stand by things decided") , courts are generally expected to follow precedent in their decisions. When a prior court has ruled on the same or a closely related issue, subsequent courts are encouraged to align their decisions with the earlier ruling to maintain consistency and predictability in
4030-547: Is a legal principle by which judges are obligated to respect the precedent established by prior decisions. The words originate from the phrasing of the principle in the Latin maxim Stare decisis et non quieta movere : "to stand by decisions and not disturb the undisturbed". In a legal context, this means that courts should abide by precedent and not disturb settled matters. The principle can be divided into two components: The second principle, regarding persuasive precedent , reflects
4185-415: Is a process that has its origins in the English common law. Most state attorney opinions address issues of government finance or the authority of political bodies within the state. Often, these opinions are the only available authority interpreting rarely‑litigated statutes and constitutional provisions. By and large, courts treat state attorney general opinions as persuasive authority. The opinions lack
4340-546: Is a term used for important precedent that is resistant or immune from being overturned, without regard to whether correctly decided in the first place. It may be viewed as one extreme in a range of precedential power, or alternatively, to express a belief, or a critique of that belief, that some decisions should not be overturned. In 1976, Richard Posner and William Landes coined the term "super-precedent" in an article they wrote about testing theories of precedent by counting citations. Posner and Landes used this term to describe
4495-470: Is an Irish citizen or entitled to be one, a British citizen, a resident with no time limit of stay in either the Republic or Northern Ireland , or a resident who has been domiciled on the island of Ireland for at least three of the preceding four years. Persons born in Northern Ireland are usually entitled to – but not automatically granted – Irish citizenship, largely under
4650-424: Is awarded based on two well-known principles: jus sanguinis and jus soli . Jus sanguinis translated from Latin means "right of blood". According to this principle, nationality is awarded if the parent(s) of the person are nationals of that country. Jus soli is referred to as "birthright citizenship". It means, anyone born in the territory of the country is awarded nationality of that country. Statelessness
4805-415: Is called naturalization . Each state determines in its nationality law the conditions ( statute ) under which it will recognize persons as its nationals, and the conditions under which that status will be withdrawn . Some countries permit their nationals to have multiple nationalities , while others insist on exclusive allegiance . Due to the etymology of nationality , in older texts or other languages
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4960-505: Is defined by the 1954 Statelessness Convention as "a person who is not considered a national by any State under operation of its law.” A person can become stateless because of administrative reasons. For example, "A person may be at risk of statelessness if she is born in a State that applies jus sanguinis while her parents were born in a State that applies jus soli , leaving the person ineligible for citizenship in both States due to conflicting laws." Moreover, there are countries in which if
5115-466: Is entitled to Irish citizenship regardless of the statuses of their parents; this includes children born in Ireland between these dates to foreign government officials with diplomatic immunity , who are eligible to claim citizenship by special declaration. Children born overseas are Irish citizens by descent if either parent or any grandparent was born in Ireland and is either an Irish citizen or entitled to be one, although those born to an Irish parent who
5270-491: Is focused on the internal political life of the state and nationality is the dimension of state membership in international law . Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to nationality. As such nationality in international law can be called and understood as citizenship, or more generally as subject or belonging to a sovereign state , and not as ethnicity. This notwithstanding, around 10 million people are stateless . Today,
5425-438: Is known as binding precedent (alternately metaphorically precedent , mandatory or binding authority , etc.). Under the doctrine of stare decisis , a lower court must honor findings of law made by a higher court that is within the appeals path of cases the court hears. In state and federal courts in the United States of America, jurisdiction is often divided geographically among local trial courts, several of which fall under
5580-406: Is not binding precedent but that is useful or relevant and that may guide the judge in making the decision in a current case. Persuasive precedent includes cases decided by lower courts, by peer or higher courts from other geographic jurisdictions, cases made in other parallel systems (for example, military courts, administrative courts, indigenous/tribal courts, state courts versus federal courts in
5735-413: Is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers to a person's legal belonging to a sovereign state and is the common term used in international treaties when addressing members of a country, while citizenship usually means the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation. This distinction is clearly defined in non-English speaking countries but not in
5890-534: Is not defined by political borders or passport ownership and includes nations that lack an independent state (such as the Arameans , Scots , Welsh , English , Andalusians , Basques , Catalans , Kurds , Kabyles , Baluchs , Pashtuns , Berbers , Bosniaks , Palestinians , Hmong , Inuit , Copts , Māori , Wakhis , Xhosas and Zulus , among others). National identity is person's subjective sense of belonging to one state or to one nation. A person may be
6045-611: Is not enforced in practice. On advice from the government, the president of Ireland has authority to grant honorary Irish citizenship to any person deemed to have rendered an extraordinary service to the nation. Despite being labelled "honorary", this type of citizenship is a substantive status and gives its holders all the rights and privileges that other Irish citizens have. Honorary Irish citizenship has only been awarded to 11 people: Taoiseach Seán Lemass intended to award United States president John F. Kennedy honorary citizenship during his state visit to Ireland in 1963, but this
6200-418: Is often hard to distinguish from the ratio decidendi (reason for the decision). For these reasons, the obiter dicta may often be taken into consideration by a court. A litigant may also consider obiter dicta if a court has previously signaled that a particular legal argument is weak and may even warrant sanctions if repeated. A case decided by a multijudge panel could result in a split decision. While only
6355-517: Is often used as translation of the Russian nacional'nost' and Serbo-Croatian narodnost , which were the terms used in those countries for ethnic groups and local affiliations within the member states of the federation . In the Soviet Union, more than 100 such groups were formally recognized. Membership in these groups was identified on Soviet internal passports , and recorded in censuses in both
Irish nationality law - Misplaced Pages Continue
6510-449: Is the condition in which an individual has no formal or protective relationship with any state. There are various reasons why a person can become stateless. This might occur, for example, if a person's parents are nationals of separate countries, and the mother's country rejects all offspring of mothers married to foreign fathers, but the father's country rejects all offspring born to foreign mothers. People in this situation may not legally be
6665-463: Is the status or relationship that gives the nation the right to protect a person from other nations. Diplomatic and consular protection are dependent upon this relationship between the person and the state. A person's status as being the national of a country is used to resolve the conflict of laws . Within the broad limits imposed by a few treaties and international law, states may freely define who are and are not their nationals. However, since
6820-464: The Nottebohm case , other states are only required to respect the claim(s) by a state to protect an alleged national if the nationality is based on a true social bond. In the case of dual nationality, the states may determine the most effective nationality for the person, to determine which state's laws are the most relevant. There are also limits on removing a person's status as a national. Article 15 of
6975-608: The American Law Institute . Some bodies are given statutory powers to issue guidance with persuasive authority or similar statutory effect, such as the Highway Code . In federal or multijurisdictional law systems, conflicts may exist between the various lower appellate courts. Sometimes these differences may not be resolved and distinguishing how the law is applied in one district , province, division or appellate department may be necessary. Usually, only an appeal accepted by
7130-557: The Anglosphere . In the modern Irish context, there is little distinction between the two terms and they are used interchangeably. Since the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century, England has been politically and militarily involved on the island. English control was tenuous until the Tudor conquest in the 16th century, during which the entire island was assimilated into
7285-746: The Balfour Declaration with all the Dominion heads of government, which stated that the United Kingdom and Dominions were autonomous and equal to each other within the British Commonwealth of Nations . Full legislative independence was granted to the Dominions with passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931 . Legislation clarifying Irish citizenship acquisition was delayed due to the government's desire to negotiate an exception in British subject status with
7440-587: The Basque Country as " nationalities " ( nacionalidades ). In 2013, the Supreme Court of Israel unanimously affirmed the position that "citizenship" (e.g. Israeli) is separate from le'om ( Hebrew : לאום ; "nationality" or "ethnic affiliation"; e.g. Jewish , Arab , Druze , Circassian ), and that the existence of a unique "Israeli" le'om has not been proven. Israel recognizes more than 130 le'umim in total. The older ethnicity meaning of "nationality"
7595-518: The British Empire . Colonies had wide discretion in developing their own procedures and requirements for naturalisation up to that point. In 1847, the British Parliament formalised a clear distinction between subjects who naturalised in the UK and those who did so in other territories. Individuals who naturalised in the UK were deemed to have received the status by imperial naturalisation, which
7750-537: The High Court and the Court of Appeal are each bound by their own previous decisions. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is able to deviate from its earlier decisions, although in practice it rarely does so. A lower court may not rule against a binding precedent, even if the lower court feels that the precedent is wrong. Even if an intermediate judge issues a ruling inconsistent with existing or subsequent precedent, if
7905-581: The Irish Free State in 1922 and departure from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1949, Irish citizens no longer hold British nationality. However, they continue to have favoured status in the United Kingdom and are largely exempt from British immigration law, eligible to vote in UK elections , and able to stand for public office there. The distinction between the meaning of the terms citizenship and nationality
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#17328561855078060-661: The Kingdom of Ireland . After passage of the Acts of Union 1800 , Ireland was merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Accordingly, British nationality law applied in Ireland. Any person born in Ireland, as a constituent part of the United Kingdom, or anywhere else within Crown dominions was a natural-born British subject. Natural-born subjects were considered to owe perpetual allegiance to
8215-565: The Republic of China nationality , but do not have an automatic entitlement to enter or reside in the Taiwan Area , and do not qualify for civic rights and duties there. Under the nationality laws of Mexico , Colombia , and some other Latin American countries, nationals do not become citizens until they turn the age of majority. List of nationalities which do not have full citizenship rights Even if
8370-640: The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom , which took over the judicial functions of the House of Lords in 2009. In civil law and pluralist systems, precedent is not binding but case law is taken into account by the courts. Binding precedent relies on the legal principle of stare decisis . Stare decisis means to stand by things decided. It ensures certainty and consistency in the application of law. Existing binding precedent from past cases are applied in principle to new situations by analogy . One law professor has described mandatory precedent as follows: Given
8525-749: The United States Congress would have been in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution . Nationality In international law , nationality is a legal identification establishing the person as a subject, a national , of a sovereign state . It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the state against other states. The rights and duties of nationals vary from state to state, and are often complemented by citizenship law, in some contexts to
8680-421: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "Everyone has the right to a nationality," and "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality." A person can be recognized or granted nationality on a number of bases. Usually, nationality based on circumstances of birth is automatic, but an application may be required. The following instruments address
8835-438: The civil service , who reside outside of the Republic for a continuous period of seven years without annually registering their intention to retain Irish citizenship may be stripped of their citizenship. Individuals who obtained citizenship through their marriage or civil partnership to an Irish citizen before 2005 and who reside outside of the island of Ireland may also have their status removed. This provision for citizenship loss
8990-482: The cognate word for nationality in local language may be understood as a synonym of ethnicity or as an identifier of cultural and family-based self-determination , rather than on relations with a state or current government. For example, some Kurds say that they have Kurdish nationality, even though there is no Kurdish sovereign state at this time in history. In the context of former Soviet Union and former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , "nationality"
9145-502: The court of last resort will resolve such differences, and for many reasons, such appeals are often not granted. Any court may seek to distinguish its present case from that of a binding precedent, to reach a different conclusion. The validity of such a distinction may or may not be accepted on appeal. An appellate court may also propound an entirely new and different analysis from that of junior courts, and may or may not be bound by its own previous decisions, or in any case may distinguish
9300-506: The legal certainty resulting from the binding effect of previous decisions, and on the other side the avoidance of undue restriction on the proper development of the law." Judges are bound by the law of binding precedent in England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions. This is a distinctive feature of the English legal system. In other countries, particularly in mainland Europe, civil law means that judges take case law into account in
9455-529: The 1935 Act further deviated from the common code by creating an Irish nationality distinct from British nationality and explicitly repeals all related British-enacted legislation. Despite this separation, British subjects from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries remained defined as non-foreign in Irish law and those resident in Ireland continued to be treated almost identically to Irish citizens. Irish citizens have not been considered British subjects under Irish law since passage of this Act. Regardless,
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#17328561855079610-596: The 1956 Act. Since 2004, spouses of Irish citizens no longer have a facilitated path to acquiring citizenship. In 1973, Ireland joined the European Communities (EC), a set of organisations that later developed into the European Union (EU). Irish citizens have since been able to work in other EC/EU countries under the freedom of movement for workers established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome and participated in their first European Parliament elections in 1979 . With
9765-466: The 19th and 20th centuries, it was typical for only a certain percentage of people who belonged to the state to be considered as full citizens. In the past, a number of people were excluded from citizenship on the basis of sex, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, religion, and other factors. However, they held a legal relationship with their government akin to the modern concept of nationality. United States nationality law defines some persons born in some of
9920-536: The British Empire. Imperial legislation at the time dictated that although individual Dominions could define a citizenship for their own citizens, that citizenship would only be effective within the local Dominion's borders. A Canadian, New Zealand, or Irish citizen who travelled outside of their own country would have been regarded as a British subject. This was reinforced by Article 3 of the 1922 Constitution, which stated that Irish citizenship could be exercised "within
10075-574: The British government continued to treat virtually all Irish citizens as British subjects, except for those who had acquired Irish citizenship by naturalisation, since the Free State had not incorporated Part II of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 into its legislation. The Irish government rejected adopting this provision to avoid the appearance that the Free State was acknowledging in any way that Britain could legislate for Ireland and due to overwhelmingly negative public opinion of
10230-434: The Constitution. That entitlement was then revoked by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004. Children born in Ireland beginning in 2005 are only granted citizenship by birth if at least one parent is an Irish citizen or entitled to be one, a British citizen, a resident with no time limit of stay in either the Republic or Northern Ireland, or a resident who has been domiciled on the island of Ireland for at least three of
10385-651: The Crown was no longer required to possess British subject status and that the common status would be maintained by voluntary agreement among the Commonwealth members. Ireland formally declared itself a republic and removed the British monarch's remaining official functions in the Irish state in 1948. Despite India's continued membership as a republic within the Commonwealth following the London Declaration , Ireland ceased to be
10540-523: The District of Columbia alone, and up to seven states. Each panel of judges on the court of appeals for a circuit is bound to obey the prior appellate decisions of the same circuit. Precedent of a United States court of appeals may be overruled only by the court en banc , that is, a session of all the active appellate judges of the circuit, or by the United States Supreme Court —not simply by
10695-410: The Dominions on this issue, which it did not have. The 1935 Irish legislation stated that marriage between an Irish citizen and foreign spouse did not affect the national status of either spouse, eroding imperial legal uniformity in this regard. New Zealand and Australia also amended their laws in 1935 and 1936 to allow women denaturalised by marriage to retain their rights as British subjects. Moreover,
10850-495: The EU that came into force in 2002. Following the United Kingdom's 2016 referendum in favour of leaving the EU, Irish citizenship applications from Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) increased substantially. While only 54 people from Britain naturalised as Irish citizens in 2015 before the referendum, this number had grown to 1,156 by 2021. Despite the UK's withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020 and contrary to other EU nationals, Irish citizens continue to have free movement in
11005-462: The Empire pressured the imperial government to amend nationality regulations that tied a married woman's status to that of her husband. Because the British government could no longer enforce legislative supremacy over the Dominions after 1931 and wanted to maintain a strong constitutional link to them through the common nationality code, it was unwilling to make major changes without unanimous agreement among
11160-410: The Empire, culminated with the creation of a substantive Canadian citizenship in 1946 , breaking the system of a common imperial nationality. Combined with the approaching independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, comprehensive reform to British nationality law was necessary at this point to address ideas that were incompatible with the previous system. The British Nationality Act 1948 abolished
11315-470: The Free State, along with their children. Irish-born individuals continuing to live overseas became eligible to acquire Irish citizenship by registration, provided that they had not voluntarily naturalised as citizens of another country. Foreign nationals who resided in the Free State for at least five years could apply for naturalisation. Irish citizens older than age 21 who acquired foreign citizenship automatically lost Irish citizenship, and any Irish child who
11470-557: The Irish Free State". Despite these disagreements, the two governments agreed not to establish border controls between their jurisdictions and all Irish citizens and British subjects continued to have the ability to move freely within the Common Travel Area . Although the Constitution provided a definition for who acquired citizenship at the time of independence, it contained no detail on how to acquire it after 1922. This created
11625-402: The Irish government began issuing passports in 1924, British authorities refused to accept these documents. British consular staff were instructed to confiscate any Irish passports that did not include the term "British subject" and replace them with British passports. This situation continued until 1930, when Irish passports were amended to describe its holders as "one of His Majesty's subjects of
11780-618: The Republic or Northern Ireland, or a resident who has been domiciled on the island of Ireland for at least three of the preceding four years. Any person entitled to Irish citizenship who performs an act that only an Irish citizen has a right to do, such as applying for an Irish passport or registering to vote in national elections, automatically becomes a citizen. Individuals born in Northern Ireland from 6 December 1922 to 1 December 1999 who did not have an Irish citizen parent were entitled to become Irish citizens by declaration. Any person born in that territory from 2 December 1999 to 31 December 2004
11935-420: The Republic, although this number does not include those resident in Northern Ireland or Britain. Adopted children are automatically granted Irish citizenship if the adoption is completed in Ireland; parents adopting children overseas must register an adoption with Irish authorities for the process to take effect in Irish law and are required to apply for immigration clearance before any adopted children may enter
12090-611: The Second Circuit (New York and surrounding states) is especially respected in commercial and securities law, the Seventh Circuit (in Chicago), especially Judge Posner, is highly regarded on antitrust, and the District of Columbia Circuit is highly regarded on administrative law. The doctrine of vertical precedent states that each court is bound by the decisions of higher courts in its jurisdictional area or tribunal hierarchy. Generally,
12245-614: The Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to the commencement of the Roberts hearings, the committee chair, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times referring to Roe as a "super-precedent". He revisited this concept during the hearings, but neither Roberts nor Alito endorsed the term or the concept. Persuasive precedent (also persuasive authority ) is precedent or other legal writing that
12400-537: The Supreme Court says that the First Amendment applies in a specific way to suits for slander, then every court is bound by that precedent in its interpretation of the First Amendment as it applies to suits for slander. If a lower court judge disagrees with a higher court precedent on what the First Amendment should mean, the lower court judge must rule according to the binding precedent. Until the higher court changes
12555-401: The U.S. legal system, courts are set up in a hierarchy. At the top of the federal or national system is the Supreme Court, and underneath are lower federal courts. The state court systems have hierarchical structures similar to that of the federal system. The U.S. Supreme Court has final authority on questions about the meaning of federal law, including the U.S. Constitution. For example, when
12710-450: The UK and Crown dependencies . In 1988, a citizenship by investment pathway was created ostensibly to attract foreign investment into the country as a way to help lower the high unemployment rate. A foreigner could acquire Irish citizenship through this programme after investing IR£1 million in a business with the goal of creating or maintaining 10 jobs for at least five years. Investors were required to maintain an Irish address or live in
12865-742: The UK and Ireland after 1949. British authorities systemically discouraged non-white immigration into the UK, but strong economic conditions in Britain following the Second World War attracted an unprecedented wave of colonial migration. In response, the British Parliament imposed immigration controls on any Commonwealth citizens originating from outside the British Islands with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 . Ireland mirrored this restriction and limited free movement only to people born on
13020-479: The US illegally when quite young and grew up there while having little contact with their native country and their culture often have a national identity of feeling American, despite legally being nationals of a different country. Dual nationality is when a single person has a formal relationship with two separate, sovereign states. This might occur, for example, if a person's parents are nationals of separate countries, and
13175-412: The US outlying possessions as US nationals but not citizens. British nationality law defines six classes of British national, among which "British citizen" is one class (having the right of abode in the United Kingdom, along with some " British subjects "). Similarly, in the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , the status of national without household registration applies to people who have
13330-464: The USSR and Yugoslavia. In the early years of the Soviet Union's existence, ethnicity was usually determined by the person's native language, and sometimes through religion or cultural factors, such as clothing. Children born after the revolution were categorized according to their parents' recorded ethnicities. Many of these ethnic groups are still recognized by modern Russia and other countries. Similarly,
13485-472: The United States), statements made in dicta , treatises or academic law reviews , and in some exceptional circumstances, cases of other nations, treaties, world judicial bodies, etc. In a " case of first impression ", courts often rely on persuasive precedent from courts in other jurisdictions that have previously dealt with similar issues. Persuasive precedent may become binding through its adoption by
13640-608: The Virgin Islands) is bound by rulings of the Third Circuit Court, but not by rulings in the Ninth Circuit (Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and Washington), since the Circuit Courts of Appeals have jurisdiction defined by geography. The Circuit Courts of Appeals can interpret the law how they want, so long as there is no binding Supreme Court precedent. One of
13795-437: The appellate court will have the opportunity to review both the precedent and the case under appeal, perhaps overruling the previous case law by setting a new precedent of higher authority. This may happen several times as the case works its way through successive appeals. Lord Denning , first of the High Court of Justice , later of the Court of Appeal , provided a famous example of this evolutionary process in his development of
13950-623: The broad precedent guidance a court may draw upon in reaching all of its decisions. In the common-law tradition, courts decide the law applicable to a case by interpreting statutes and applying precedent, which record how and why prior cases have been decided. Unlike most civil-law systems, common-law systems follow the doctrine of stare decisis , by which most courts are bound by their own previous decisions in similar cases, and all lower courts should make decisions consistent with previous decisions of higher courts. For example, in England and Wales,
14105-441: The case is not vacated on appeal the decision will stand. If the court believes that developments or trends in legal reasoning render the precedent unhelpful, and wishes to evade it and help the law evolve, the court may either hold that the precedent is inconsistent with subsequent authority, or that the precedent should be "distinguished" by some material difference between the facts of the cases. If that decision goes to appeal,
14260-452: The common code and each Commonwealth country would enact legislation to create its own nationality. British subject was redefined to mean any citizen of a Commonwealth country. Commonwealth citizen is defined in the Act to have the same meaning. British subject/Commonwealth citizen status co-existed with the citizenships of each Commonwealth country. This change in naming indicated that allegiance to
14415-404: The common reasons the Supreme Court grants certiorari (that is, they agree to hear a case) is if there is a conflict among the circuit courts as to the meaning of a federal law. There are three elements needed for a precedent to work. Firstly, the hierarchy of the courts needs to be accepted, and an efficient system of law reporting. "A balance must be struck between the need on one side for
14570-519: The concept of estoppel starting in the High Trees case: Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd [1947] K.B. 130. Judges may refer to various types of persuasive authority to reach a decision in a case. Widely cited nonbinding sources include legal encyclopedias such as Corpus Juris Secundum and Halsbury's Laws of England , or the published work of the Law Commission or
14725-403: The concept of full citizenship encompasses not only active political rights, but full civil rights and social rights . Historically, the most significant difference between a national and a citizen is that the citizen has the right to vote for elected officials, and the right to be elected. This distinction between full citizenship and other, lesser relationships goes back to antiquity. Until
14880-473: The country and their commitments to boosting Irish employment were not fulfilled. A person of Irish association became defined in legislation in 2004 as someone "related by blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is an Irish citizen". Negotiations for the Northern Ireland peace process resulted in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement . Under these accords, Northern Irish residents were acknowledged as having
15035-482: The country as citizens. Abandoned children found in Ireland with unclear parentage are considered to have been born on the island to at least one Irish parent. Foreigners over the age of 18 as well as minors born in Ireland may naturalise as Irish citizens after residing in the country for at least five of the previous nine years, with one year of continuous residence immediately preceding an application. For applicants married to or in civil partnership with Irish citizens,
15190-456: The country for at least 60 days before receiving an Irish passport. Under the 1956 Act, the Minister for Justice has absolute discretionary power to waive any citizenship requirements for applicants who are of "Irish association". This term was not defined in legislation, which allowed the minister to use this pathway to grant any foreigner Irish citizenship. The citizenship by investment programme
15345-494: The creation of European Union citizenship by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty , free movement rights were extended to all nationals of EU member states regardless of their employment status. The scope of these rights was further expanded with the establishment of the European Economic Area in 1994 to include any national of an EFTA member state except for Switzerland , which concluded a separate free movement agreement with
15500-464: The current era, persons native to Taiwan who hold passports of Republic of China are one example. Some countries (like Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia) can also remove one's citizenship; the reasons for removal can be fraud and/or security issues. There are also people who are abandoned at birth and the parents' whereabouts are not known. Nationality law defines nationality and statelessness. Nationality
15655-562: The decisions based on significant differences in the facts applicable to each case. Or, a court may view the matter before it as one of " first impression ", not governed by any controlling precedent. When various members of a multi-judge court write separate opinions, the reasoning may differ; only the ratio decidendi of the majority becomes binding precedent. For example, if a 12-member court splits 5–2–3–2 in four different opinions on several different issues, whatever reasoning commands seven votes on each specific issue becomes precedent, and
15810-518: The doctrine of stare decisis makes no sense. The decisions of this court are binding upon and must be followed by all the state courts of California. Decisions of every division of the District Courts of Appeal are binding upon all the justice and municipal courts and upon all the superior courts of this state , and this is so whether or not the superior court is acting as a trial or appellate court. Courts exercising inferior jurisdiction must accept
15965-494: The earlier 1935 Act, expanded the available pathways to citizenship and allowed more situations to retain it. Restrictions on holding multiple nationalities were repealed and any Irish citizen who acquired another nationality no longer automatically lost their Irish citizenship. Individuals could instead voluntarily choose to renounce their Irish citizenship and any person born in Northern Ireland who did not otherwise acquire Irish citizenship by descent could claim citizenship by making
16120-597: The first time with passage of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 . British subject status was standardised as a common nationality across the Empire. Dominions that adopted Part II of this Act as part of local legislation were authorised to grant subject status to aliens by imperial naturalisation. Resistance to the Union and desire for local self-governance led to the Irish War of Independence . Following
16275-433: The force of law that statutes and judicial opinions have. But, they still have the potential to act as a sort of pseudo‑law if they constrain the activities of public officials or the public. Oftentimes, this effect depends on the "formality" of the opinion. Opinions can be either formal, meaning they are published, or informal, meaning that they are sent directly to the opinion requestor. Although formal opinions can act as
16430-410: The form of delegated legislation (in UK parlance) or regulatory law (in US parlance)). Case law , in common-law jurisdictions, is the set of decisions of adjudicatory tribunals or other rulings that can be cited as precedent. In most countries, including most European countries, the term is applied to any set of rulings on law, which is guided by previous rulings, for example, previous decisions of
16585-441: The hierarchy. A district court, for example, could not rely on a Supreme Court dissent as a basis to depart from the reasoning of the majority opinion. However, lower courts occasionally cite dissents, either for a limiting principle on the majority, or for propositions that are not stated in the majority opinion and not inconsistent with that majority, or to explain a disagreement with the majority and to urge reform (while following
16740-618: The influential effect of a cited decision. The term "super-precedent" later became associated with different issue: the difficulty of overturning a decision. In 1992, Rutgers professor Earl Maltz criticized the Supreme Court's decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey for endorsing the idea that if one side can take control of the Court on an issue of major national importance (as in Roe v. Wade ), that side can protect its position from being reversed "by
16895-442: The intention of permanently living in the UK, was ruled to have a right of residence in the EU as the primary caregiver of an EU citizen exercising free movement rights in another member state. In response to the perceived "abuse" of citizenship, the Irish government proposed a constitutional amendment limiting birthright citizenship only to people with a sufficient existing connection to Ireland. The Irish and British governments issued
17050-417: The island prior to this amendment as a part of statute law, increasing levels of immigration into the country soon affected the degree to which that entitlement would be given. In the 1990 Supreme Court case Fajujonu v Minister for Justice , it was ruled that noncitizen parents of Irish-born children were entitled to remain in Ireland through their children's rights of residence. The application of this ruling
17205-438: The islands of Great Britain or Ireland. However, individuals born in the UK since 1983 are only British citizens if at least one parent is already a British citizen. The Irish regulation created a legal anomaly where persons born in Britain without British citizenship nevertheless held an unrestricted right to settle in Ireland; this inconsistency was removed in 1999. The 1956 Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, which replaced
17360-528: The law declared by courts of superior jurisdiction. It is not their function to attempt to overrule decisions of a higher court. The doctrine stating that a judge is bound by (or at least should respect) previous decisions by the same court is called horizontal stare decisis . For example, in the United States federal court system , the intermediate appellate courts are divided into thirteen "circuits", each covering some range of territory ranging in size from
17515-531: The law. Common law legal systems often view precedent as binding or persuasive, while civil law systems do not. Common-law systems aim for similar facts to yield similar and predictable outcomes, and observing precedent when making decisions is the mechanism to achieve that goal. Common-law precedent is a third kind of law, on equal footing with statutory law (that is, statutes and codes enacted by legislative bodies) and subordinate legislation (that is, regulations promulgated by executive branch agencies, in
17670-409: The legal nationality as well as ethnicity with a national identity. Nationality is the status that allows a nation to grant rights to the subject and to impose obligations upon the subject. In most cases, no rights or obligations are automatically attached to this status, although the status is a necessary precondition for any rights and obligations created by the state. In European law, nationality
17825-453: The legal system. For example, an appellate court for one district could consider a ruling issued by an appeals court in another district. Courts may consider obiter dicta in the opinions of higher courts. The Dicta of a higher court, though not binding, will often be persuasive to lower courts. The phrase obiter dicta is usually translated as "other things said", but due to the high number of judges and individual concurring opinions, it
17980-463: The limits of the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State". From the British government's perspective, any person born in Ireland remained bound by allegiance to the monarch. When Free State authorities were first preparing to issue Irish passports in 1923, the British government insisted on the inclusion of some type of wording that described the holders of these passports as "British subjects". The two sides could not reach agreement on this issue and when
18135-436: The majority in the outcome). Courts may consider the writings of eminent legal scholars in treatises, restatements of the law, and law reviews. The extent to which judges find these types of writings persuasive will vary widely with elements such as the reputation of the author and the relevance of the argument. In the United States, every state attorney general is permitted to issue advisory opinions on questions of law. It
18290-416: The majority opinion is considered precedential, an outvoted judge can still publish a dissenting opinion. Common patterns for dissenting opinions include: A judge in a subsequent case, particularly in a different jurisdiction, could find the dissenting judge's reasoning persuasive. In the jurisdiction of the original decision, however, a judge should only overturn the holding of a court lower or equivalent in
18445-406: The mother's country claims all offspring of the mother's as their own nationals, but the father's country claims all offspring of the father's. Nationality, with its historical origins in allegiance to a sovereign monarch, was seen originally as a permanent, inherent, unchangeable condition, and later, when a change of allegiance was permitted, as a strictly exclusive relationship, so that becoming
18600-531: The national of any state despite possession of an emotional national identity. Another stateless situation arises when a person holds a travel document (passport) which recognizes the bearer as having the nationality of a "state" which is not internationally recognized, has no entry into the International Organization for Standardization's country list, is not a member of the United Nations, etc. In
18755-430: The nationalities of their parents. Individuals born since that date anywhere on the island of Ireland receive Irish citizenship at birth if they are not entitled to any other country's citizenship. Otherwise, they are entitled to but not automatically granted citizenship if at least one parent is an Irish citizen or holds an entitlement to Irish citizenship, a British citizen, a resident with no time limit of stay in either
18910-470: The nationality law classifies people with the same nationality on paper ( de jure ), the right conferred can be different according to the place of birth or residence, creating different de facto classes of nationality, sometimes with different passports as well. For example, although Chinese nationality law operates uniformly in China , including Hong Kong and Macau SARs, with all Chinese nationals classified
19065-420: The noncitizen parent continued to be granted a right to remain without any such qualifications. However, the scope of noncitizen parental residence rights in the EU was expanded in the 2004 European Court of Justice case Chen v Home Secretary in which Man Lavette Chen, a Chinese woman who had travelled to Northern Ireland to give birth to her Irish citizen daughter then subsequently relocated to Wales with
19220-402: The parties before them pertaining to the same pattern of facts or events, unless they have a strong reason to change these rulings. In law , a binding precedent (also known as a mandatory precedent or binding authority) is a precedent which must be followed by all lower courts under common law legal systems . In English law it is usually created by the decision of a higher court, such as
19375-516: The point where citizenship is synonymous with nationality. However, nationality differs technically and legally from citizenship, which is a different legal relationship between a person and a country. The noun "national" can include both citizens and non-citizens. The most common distinguishing feature of citizenship is that citizens have the right to participate in the political life of the state, such as by voting or standing for election . However, in most modern countries all nationals are citizens of
19530-407: The post-independence populace. Although residents of Northern Ireland were disadvantaged in acquiring citizenship and conducting commerce under Irish law, the territory remained defined as an integral part of the state in the revised 1937 Constitution of Ireland . Diverging developments in Dominion legislation, as well as growing assertions of local national identity separate from that of Britain and
19685-508: The preceding four years. After these changes were implemented, noncitizen parents of Irish children born before 2005 became eligible for a two-year renewable residence grant under the Irish Born Child Scheme. About 17,000 people obtained Irish residency through this programme during its application period in 2005. All persons born in the Republic of Ireland before 1 January 2005 automatically received citizenship at birth regardless of
19840-699: The residence requirement is reduced to three of the last five years. Candidates must satisfy a good character requirement and intend to remain domiciled in Ireland after naturalising. Individuals under investigation by local police are routinely denied naturalisation. Successful applicants are required to take an oath of citizenship at a public citizenship ceremony. The Minister for Justice has discretionary power to waive any or all citizenship requirements for applicants of Irish descent or association, minor children of naturalised citizens, individuals in public service stationed overseas, or recognised refugees and stateless persons. Irish citizenship can be relinquished by making
19995-585: The rest of the Commonwealth. Ultimately, no compromise on the issue was reached but Ireland did not pass its own nationality legislation until after passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act enacted by the Oireachtas in 1935 provided a full framework detailing requirements for obtaining citizenship. Under the 1935 Act, any individual born in the Irish Free State on or after 6 December 1922, or overseas to an Irish father who himself
20150-494: The right to a nationality: Nationals normally have the right to enter or return to the country they belong to. Passports are issued to nationals of a state, rather than only to citizens, because a passport is a travel document used to enter the country. However, nationals may not have the right of abode (the right to live permanently) in the countries that granted them passports. Conceptually citizenship and nationality are different dimensions of state membership. Citizenship
20305-496: The right to change his nationality", even though, by international custom and conventions, it is the right of each state to determine who its nationals are. Such determinations are part of nationality law . In some cases, determinations of nationality are also governed by public international law —for example, by treaties on statelessness or the European Convention on Nationality . The process of acquiring nationality
20460-505: The right to hold either or both British and Irish citizenships regardless of whether the UK or Ireland hold sovereignty over Northern Ireland, and any person born on the island of Ireland had a right to hold Irish citizenship. These changes became constitutional entitlements when the Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was adopted in 1999. Although Ireland had long granted birthright citizenship to any person born on
20615-446: The right to live, work, and enter and exit the United Kingdom freely, and are the only EU citizens permitted to do this due to the common travel area between the UK and Ireland . All persons born in the Republic before 1 January 2005 are automatically citizens by birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country since that date receive Irish citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents
20770-429: The ruling (or the law itself is changed), the binding precedent is authoritative on the meaning of the law. Lower courts are bound by the precedent set by higher courts within their region. Thus, a federal district court that falls within the geographic boundaries of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (the mid-level appeals court that hears appeals from district court decisions from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
20925-446: The same terms. Foreign nationals may become Irish citizens by naturalisation after meeting a minimum residence requirement, usually five years. The president of Ireland may also grant honorary citizenship , which entails the same rights and duties as normal citizenship, although this is rare. Ireland as a whole was previously part of the United Kingdom and Irish people were British subjects . After most of Ireland's independence as
21080-506: The same under the nationality law, in reality local laws, in mainland and also in the SARs, govern the right of Chinese nationals in their respective territories which give vastly different rights, including different passports, to Chinese nationals according to their birthplace or residence place, effectively making a distinction between Chinese national of mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, both domestically and internationally. The United Kingdom had
21235-408: The seven-judge majorities may differ issue-to-issue. All may be cited as persuasive (though of course opinions that concur in the majority result are more persuasive than dissents). Quite apart from the rules of precedent, the weight actually given to any reported opinion may depend on the reputation of both the court and the judges with respect to the specific issue. For example, in the United States,
21390-400: The significant facts of the precedent case are also presented in the pending case, and (4) no additional facts appear in the pending case that might be treated as significant. In extraordinary circumstances a higher court may overturn or overrule mandatory precedent, but will often attempt to distinguish the precedent before overturning it, thereby limiting the scope of the precedent. Under
21545-401: The sovereign, and could not voluntarily renounce British subject status until this was first permitted in 1870. British nationality law during this time was uncodified and did not have a standard set of regulations, relying instead on past precedent and common law . Until the mid-19th century, it was unclear whether rules for naturalisation in the United Kingdom were applicable elsewhere in
21700-412: The state, and full citizens are always nationals of the state. In international law , a " stateless person " is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". To address this, Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "Everyone has the right to a nationality", and "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied
21855-504: The term nationalities of China refers to ethnic and cultural groups in China. Spain is one nation, made up of nationalities , which are not politically recognized as nations (state), but can be considered smaller nations within the Spanish nation. Spanish law recognizes the autonomous communities of Andalusia , Aragon , Balearic Islands , Canary Islands , Catalonia , Valencia , Galicia and
22010-476: The territory of a regional appeals court. All appellate courts fall under a highest court (sometimes but not always called a "supreme court"). By definition, decisions of lower courts are not binding on courts higher in the system, nor are appeals court decisions binding on local courts that fall under a different appeals court. Further, courts must follow their own proclamations of law made earlier on other cases, and honor rulings made by other courts in disputes among
22165-457: The war, the island of Ireland was partitioned into two parts . Southern Ireland became the Irish Free State in 1922, while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom. When the Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force on 6 December 1922, any individual domiciled in Ireland automatically became an Irish citizen if they were born in Ireland, born to at least one parent who
22320-471: The word "nationality", rather than "ethnicity", is often used to refer to an ethnic group (a group of people who share a common ethnic identity, language, culture, lineage, history, and so forth). Individuals may also be considered nationals of groups with autonomous status that have ceded some power to a larger sovereign state. Nationality is also employed as a term for national identity , with some cases of identity politics and nationalism conflating
22475-474: Was also born overseas are only entitled to Irish citizenship if their birth is registered in the Foreign Birth Register or the parent was resident abroad while in public service. Irish citizenship can be continually transmitted through each generation born abroad provided that each subsequent generational birth is registered in the Foreign Births Register. About 1.47 million Irish citizens live outside of
22630-469: Was born in Ireland, or living in Ireland for at least seven years prior to independence. Any person who already held citizenship of another country could choose not to accept Irish citizenship. Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty , Northern Ireland was included in the Irish Free State on independence, but had the right to opt out of the new state within one month of its establishment. This option
22785-507: Was born in the state, was a natural-born citizen. Children born abroad to an Irish father who himself was not born within the Free State were required to have had their birth registered within two years. Northern Ireland was treated as outside of the Free State for the purposes of this Act. Any person born in Ireland before 6 December 1922 who did not automatically acquire citizenship under the Constitution due to their residence abroad on that date could acquire citizenship by becoming domiciled in
22940-410: Was declined due to restrictions in U.S. law that made it difficult for the head of state to accept a foreign honour. Although the Irish government was prepared to enact special legislation to grant a purely honorary title to President Kennedy rather than the substantial status, the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel determined that his acceptance of a personal honour of any kind without the express approval of
23095-399: Was exercised on 7 December 1922. The 24-hour period in which Northern Ireland was officially part of the Irish Free State meant that every person ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on 6 December who fulfilled the citizenship provisions in the Constitution had automatically become an Irish citizen on that date. At its inception, the Irish Free State gained independence as a Dominion within
23250-507: Was extremely permissive in the immediate subsequent period; any non-Irish parent of a child born in Ireland was permitted to remain. The scope of this entitlement was reduced in a 2003 Supreme Court ruling, which determined that the Minister for Justice could examine the circumstances by which a noncitizen parent was claiming a right to remain and held discretionary power to deport any such persons found to be acting contrary to national interest. For Irish-born children with one Irish citizen parent,
23405-461: Was not yet enacted that defined who was a national, this Act provided a separate definition: an Irish "national" was someone born within the borders of the Free State or had been domiciled there for at least five years before 1932. This definition continued to be used even after the 1935 Act was enacted. Significant portions of the Northern Irish population became treated as foreigners in commerce as
23560-422: Was operated under this authority and was not publicly advertised. The secrecy with which this initiative was operated under later became criticised as an attempt to obscure a way for the government to sell passports. About 100 people were able to acquire Irish citizenship through this pathway before its end in 1998. A significant number of applicants who acquired Irish passports in this way never lived or even entered
23715-640: Was registered in the Foreign Births Register was required after reaching age 21 to make a declaration of their intention to retain Irish citizenship and stating that they had renounced all other nationalities. During the period before passage of the 1935 Act, the government enacted several pieces of legislation that restricted certain types of economic activity to "Irish nationals". Under the Control of Manufactures Act 1932, Irish companies were required to be majority-owned by Irish nationals. Because legislation
23870-403: Was someone who had lived in the state for three years before 1947. These separate definitions for "Irish national" were repealed after legislative reform in 1956. Standard regulations in Commonwealth countries at the time strictly complied with the doctrine of coverture , where a woman's consent to marry a foreigner was also assumed to be intent to denaturalise . Women's rights groups throughout
24025-589: Was valid throughout the Empire. Those naturalising in colonies were said to have gone through local naturalisation and were given subject status valid only within the relevant territory; a subject who locally naturalised in Canada was a British subject there, but not in the UK or New Zealand . When travelling outside of the Empire, British subjects who were locally naturalised in a colony were still entitled to imperial protection. The British Parliament brought regulations for British subject status into codified statute law for
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