NATIONALITY OF MARRIED WOMEN

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 129, 27 November 1929, Page 10

NATIONALITY OF MARRIED WOMEN

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—ln to-night's issue of your panel! appears a report of an article by "Constance Clyde" in the Auckland "Star* dealing with the above question. Whether this writer has made an intensive stud* of the question I do not know, but thv.-ei are one or two aspects of the article which, call for comment. The article states: "A; man s nationality can be changed only by some violent act or determined effort on; his own part. ... He cannot find himself suddenly gifted with two nationalities,or, worse still, without any at all." I think, however, it will be found that* these positions can easily arise in the casa of a man. Some countries adopt the attitude that allegiance cannot be thrown; off—nemo potest exuere patriam. If I remember rightly by the Delbruck Lawpassed shortly before the war, Germany claimed to retain rights over her nationals who had gone abroad even though they had made a declaration of alienage. Thei British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act makes special provision for cases o£ double personality. (Sees. 14 and 27.) As to the question of statelessness the English. Courts decided in 1921 that such a status, could exist. Furthermore a man's nationality can be changed by cession of territority, a matter requiring no act on hia part—violent or otherwise, as in the case of the Island of Heligoland. It will be seen therefore that men, no less than women, can become involved in. nationality problems. A short while back there appeared in your columns a list of: South American States which had provided by legislation that their women subjects should not lose their nationality by. reason _of marriage. I gathered that thia legislation was considered progressive by your contributor and destined to avoid, rather than create, complications. Sup-' pose, however, that a man who has married one of these South American womenreturns with his wife to his own country and she is either refused admission or deported as an alein, would not the wis-dom-of the legislation be subjected, to a severe strain?

That the position is very complicated is quite clear, but the mere citing of instances of confusion and injustice gets" nowhere. The whole question requires in-, vestigation 'from every angle by a committee of jurists and their recommendations embodied in an international agrees ment.—l am, etc.,

OBSERVER.