Judge rules Dutch citizenship cannot be stripped based on dual nationality
The Dutch government cannot revoke the citizenship of a man born in Amsterdam with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality who was previously convicted of terrorist offenses, court ruled. The decision states that stripping his Dutch nationality would violate the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as it creates unequal treatment based on national origin.
The ruling challenges the authority of the state secretary for Justice and Security, who has the power under Dutch law to revoke citizenship for individuals convicted of terrorism. However, international regulations and Dutch law prohibit rendering a person stateless, meaning only dual nationals can be stripped of their Dutch citizenship. Some countries, including Morocco, do not allow individuals to renounce their nationality, further complicating the issue.
The 38-year-old man, born in Amsterdam, automatically acquired Moroccan nationality at birth due to his parents’ nationality. He received Dutch citizenship at the age of nine. In 2018, a Dutch criminal court sentenced him to five years and four months in prison for terrorist-related crimes. Having served his sentence, he has since been released.
The man contested the government’s decision to revoke his citizenship, arguing that it constituted unlawful discrimination against Dutch citizens with dual nationality compared to those who hold only Dutch citizenship. He claimed the policy contradicts international treaties.
The court found that the distinction made in citizenship revocation is based not only on nationality but also on ethnic origin. It ruled that ethnic origin—defined as where a person or their parents were born—plays a key role in determining nationality under some countries’ laws.
In this case, the man automatically obtained Moroccan nationality due to his parents’ background. The court emphasized that making legal distinctions based on ethnic origin is never permissible under international and European Union law.
To illustrate the discriminatory effect, the court provided an example: Three individuals, each convicted of the same terrorist offense, hold different citizenship statuses. One has only Dutch nationality, another has dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality, and the third has dual Dutch and Turkish nationality. The purely Dutch citizen would never lose their nationality. The Dutch-Moroccan citizen would automatically lose Dutch nationality because they cannot renounce their Moroccan citizenship. The Dutch-Turkish citizen would also lose their Dutch nationality unless they voluntarily renounce their Turkish citizenship.
The court ruled that such a distinction unfairly disadvantages individuals with dual nationality compared to those who are solely Dutch. This, the judges concluded, breaches international obligations the Netherlands has committed to uphold. The ruling aligns with concerns previously raised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism.
In addition to the citizenship revocation, the state secretary had also issued a deportation order and imposed a 20-year entry ban on the man. However, since the court invalidated the citizenship revocation, those measures are also unenforceable.
