Slovakia ratifies the European Convention on Nationality

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Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 09:56:15 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Slovakia ratifies the European Convention on Nationality

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

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Slovakia ratifies the European Convention on Nationality


Council of Europe
 
Slovakia ratifies the European Convention on Nationality
 
 
STRASBOURG, 27.05.98 - Slovakia today ratified the European Convention
on Nationality. Ambassador Viera STRAZNICKA, Permanent Representative
of Slovakia to the COUNCIL OF EUROPE, handed the instrument of
ratification of this text to Daniel TARSCHYS, Secretary General of the
Organisation.

The European Convention on Nationality embodies principles and rules
applying to all aspects of nationality. It is designed to make
acquisition of a new nationality and recovery of a former one easier,
to ensure that nationality is lost only for good reason and cannot be
arbitrarily withdrawn, to guarantee that the procedures governing
applications for nationality are just, fair and open to appeal, and to
regulate the situation of persons in danger of being left stateless as
a result of state succession. It also covers multiple nationality,
military obligations and co-operation between States parties.

The Council's new text represents a synthesis of recent thinking on
this question in national and international law and is the first
international text to do so. It reflects the demographic and
democratic changes (in particular migration and state succession which
have occurred in central and eastern Europe since 1989). Some states
which have recently adopted new laws on nationality have already based
their laws on the text.

Some of the essential principles behind the text are:

- prevention of statelessness; 

- non-discrimination: in regulating questions of nationality, states
must avoid all discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, race,
colour, national or ethnic origin, etc. 

- respect for the rights of persons habitually resident on the
territories concerned.

The Convention is open to signature by Council of Europe member states
and to the other states which took part in its elaboration (*). It
will come into force when three member states have ratified it.

Slovakia is the first country to ratify it. But it has already been
signed by Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Sweden and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".

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(*) Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada,
Georgia, the Holy See, Kyrgyzstan and the United States.


A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe
promotes democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 40
member states.

Press Contact
Christiane Dennemeyer, Council of Europe Press Service
Tel. +33 3 88 41 25 63 - Fax. +33 3 88 41 27 89
E-mail: [email protected]

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