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British Nationality
[LORDYSTAN-Morgan.]
-7
employ
[ LORDS]
he phraseology suggested by the noble Lord, Lord Geddes.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Schedule 9 [Repeals]:
Lord Belstead moved Amendment No. 161:
Page 72, line 15, at end insert-
(“ 1981 c. 52.
Belize Act 1981.
Section 4(1).").
The noble Lord said: My Lords, this, I think, is a consequential amendment. Certainly it is an entirely technical amendment, removing a spent provision from the statute book. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
In the Title:
Lord Tanlaw moved Amendment No. 162:
Line 1, leave out (“ and nationality ").
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The noble Lord said: My Lords, it must be with some relief that the noble Lord, Lord Belstead, has to answer perhaps his last amendment. The reason why I am bringing this amendment forward is that I think it can be assumed that anyone who wishes to know or to find out about his nationality would consult a Bill entitled British Nationality Bill in the Short Title and, in the Long Title, to which I shall refer later, a Bill "about citizenship and nationality". But surely something must be wrong with our system of making Acts of Parliament if the Title of the Bill is misleading-in this case the Short Title-and the Long Title (in my view) is deceptive. A number of misunderstandings have been created about this Bill on the whole question of nationality, and I believe there are some real dangers of this Bill being misunderstood, not in the legal sense but in perhaps the emotional sense, in the British dependent territories and in other
areas overseas.
My Lords, the Long Title of the Bill makes a distinction between citizenship and nationality in that it states-and perhaps I may quote just to remind the noble Lord that it is,
"An Act to make fresh provision about citizenship and nationality, and to amend the Immigration Act 1971 as regards the right of abode in the United Kingdom".
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In my simple way, perhaps, I can find no fresh provision which is made in this Bill in regard to British nation- ality; nor has any distinction been made between these terms, in spite of the amendment which the noble Lord, Lord Geddes, attempted to have passed earlier today; and no definition has been given of the term "British nationality". Throughout the long gestation period of this Bill, the term citizenship has been debated and to a certain degree clarified with regard to rights of entry, abode status and so on, but nothing definite has been said by Her Majesty's Government that I have understood about nationality. Nor is there any clarification of it within the Bill itself. Therefore, I question what use this term has in the Title of the Bill except to confuse citizens who may seek to clarify their nationality as opposed to their citizenship status with the help of this Bill. British citizens residing in this country may not be in much doubt as to their nationality but citizens of the British depnedent territories are most unsure as to what is
Bill
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their nationality and where they stand on how to complete the forms at an hotel or for an international driving licence and so on in answer to the question, "What nationality?" This was covered carlier today.
What is much more important is the non-legal link or emotional link that the citizens of British dependent territories wish to maintain with this country and they are worried about the inclusion or nationality in the Title of this Bill. They think something is happening about it. They read the Bill and inside the Bill nothing is said; so the question is left unanswered. The Title of this Bill, the British Nationality Bill, makes this clear distinction between citizenship and nationality. Everyone knows that when an individual applies for citizenship and is accepted there is a clear understand- ing, an oath of allegiance, and certain rights and obligations are attached to that citizenship which is definable. No one, as far as I am aware, can apply for a nationality or to be precise for a British nation- ality; for it is assumed automatically that citizenship carries with it the label of nationality of that nation- state which was empowered to grant citizenship in the first place.
I looked up the dictionary before putting down this. amendment. In the Oxford Dictionary," nationality " is defined as
"national character or quality ".
"Citizenship", again in the Oxford Dictionary, is "the position of being a citizen with its rights and privileges".
I went to Jowett's Dictionary of Law and it says,
**
'Nationality: the quality or character which arises from the fact of a person's belonging to a nation or state while domicile shall determine his civil status ".
This may be helpful in the interpretation of this Bill, but perhaps the noble Lord can explain to me why the 1948 British Nationality Act repealed the words
British nationality" in Section 28 of the earlier 1914 Act which was entitled "British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act". There is reason for this be-
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cause they could not define British nationality "; so they took it out of that Act and they took it out in the Titles and all references to it have been altered. The noble Lord will forgive me if I am not a lawyer and have got that wrong. It has been taken out of other Acts before and it has crept back into this one because it may be convenient for the Government to leave this delicate question in the air.
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It would be immensely helpful if the noble Lord could state quite categorically that citizens of the British dependent territories can, if they wish, describe their nationality as British". After all, their citizen- ship has been determined by a British Government. Why not their nationality? If the noble Lord says that he cannot allow this, can he say if a citizen of the British dependent territories will have broken the law by completing, say, an international driving licence, credit card or an hotel registration by using the des- cription" British " under the heading of" Nationality"? If so, which law has he broken? Is it that of the British Nationality Bill which is going to become law? What penalties are there?
If the noble Lord says that, under this British Nationality Bill, citizens" of British dependent terri- tories are not entitled to use the term 66 British" in answer to questions of nationality, what are they
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