Law on Common Nationality of 1962
| Law on Common Nationality of 1962 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gylian Parliament | |
| Date passed | 10 February 1962 |
| Date signed | 10 February 1962 |
| Date commenced | 25 February 1962 |
| Summary | |
| Regulates Gylian citizenship. | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Law on Common Nationality of 1962 is a Gylian federal law that defines and regulates Gylian citizenship.
The law was passed towards the end of the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias, reflecting anarchist-influenced ambivalence towards trappings of statehood such as nationality law.
Background
The "miserable compromise" between anarchists and liberals that served as the foundation of Gylias led to a preoccupation with avoiding or greatly minimising elements associated with conventional statehood in Gylias, in order to avoid usurping the Free Territories' anarchist heritage.
Accordingly, the Popular Assembly initiated debates on legislation to regulate citizenship only in late November 1961, and the first Gylian Parliament passed the legislation in February 1962.
Part of the contention during the debate was whether to use the term "citizenship", feared to have statist implications, or "nationality", feared to contradict the federalism and embrace of diversity characteristic of Gylian nationalism. The resulting compromise was to use both terms in heavily-restricted fashion.
Text of the law
- This law shall regulate Gylian citizenship.
- Citizenship reflects a legal affiliation to the common nationality of Gylians as currently represented by the republic, regardless of ethnicity, language, or other factors.
- Citizenship is not obligatory to exercise civic rights and responsibilities.
- Discrimination between citizens and residents in law or other areas of life is illegal.
- Citizenship is obtained by birth or choice.
- The formalities of obtaining citizenship are determined by municipalities.
- Citizenship may be withdrawn on the basis of dégradation civique, expulsion from the community, or other crimes against society or public peace.
- Any attack on multiple citizenship is illegal.
- Gylias respects statelessness and non-citizenship. Any action taken to aid the stateless or non-citizens shall not contradict the temporary principle.
- Xevdenites, Xevdenite descendants, and other known threats to the public peace shall not be eligible for citizenship.
Effects
The law reflects the influence of anarchist thought and the ambition of l'belle mosaïque. Uniquely, it bans any legal distinctions between citizens and residents, giving residents of Gylias the same rights and responsibilities regardless of whether they hold citizenship.
Similarly notable are the provisions that forbid "attacks" on multiple citizenship and denote "respect" towards statelessness as a point of anarchist principle, specifying that actions to aid the stateless residing in Gylias may not be in conflict with the constitutional principle that the state is temporary.
The provision banning former Xevdenites, their descendants and "other known threats to the public peace" from receiving Gylian citizenship has been criticised for its use in conjuction with the Law on Religion of 1959 against adherents of monotheist or universalist religions.