Deprivation of Citizenship: Is There an Issue of EU Law?

Abstract

The purpose of this short intervention in the debate on The Return of Banishment initiated by Audrey Macklin, where the pros and cons of various forms of deprivation policies pursued by, or sought by, liberal states have been fully debated, is to add an element of EU law. Specifically, in the light of the judgments of the European Court of Justice in Rottmann and Ruiz Zambrano, how – if at all – are Member States’ laws and procedures on involuntary loss of citizenship affected by EU law, given that the primary competence to determine the rules on the acquisition and loss of citizenship remains with Member States?