Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
State: Netherlands
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1961 Statelessness Convention, 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law
Key aspects: Deprivation of nationality, Discrimination, Procedural safeguards
The applicant is a dual Dutch/Moroccan national whose Dutch nationality was withdrawn on the basis of a criminal conviction for terrorist activities. The Court rejected the applicant's appeal, concluding, among others, that prevention of statelessness is a valid reason for differentiated treatment between those with a single and with multiple nationalities, and that withdrawal of nationality is not a punitive measure. Withdrawal of nationality in addition to the criminal sentence does not violate the principle that prohibits repeated punishments for the same action.