C Moral and Civic education Compiled by:-Tesfalem Churiso
CHAPTER TWO
CITIZENSHIP
I. Conceptual Approach: What is citizenship?
In the study of citizenship, there is a problem on the term citizenship. There is no coherent and
accepted definition of citizenship in international law and only exists conflicting descriptions
under the different municipal law of states. Generally international law leaves conditions for the
grant of citizenship ( nationality) to the domestic jurisdiction of states.
• Etymologically, the word citizenship implies a member or a citizen of a city, which is
derived from a Latin word, Civitas. The word citizenship was explained in connection
with the resident of a city. Therefore, citizenship means full membership in a country,
• Citizenship refers to rights and duties of citizens. The concept of is important since it
determine the benefits to which persons may be entitled and the obligations, which
they must perform A country grants certain rights to its citizens and demand certain
duties fore them.
• Citizenship is a political and legal relations established between the individual and the
state. Since every state possesses sovereignty and jurisprudential (used in legal
proceedings) power and since every state consist a collection of individual human
beings, it is essential to link the individual and the state as legally established
relations. On the other hand, directly and indirectly every individual has political
relations with a state, which is reflected in different forms and practices. That link
connecting the stale and the people within a territory is provided by the principles o[
citizenship.
• Citizenship is a mode of identification. It serves as a way of identifying nationals
found in territorially defined countries. The citizens of different nation-state are
identified one from the other when every nation-state enacts laws related
citizenship status.
Moral & civic education Compiled by:-Tesfalem Churiso
2. History and Development of Citizenship
Ancient Time --- The idea of citizenship was developed m the cities of ancient Greece and
Rome about 700 BC. The early Greeks and Romans thought cities mainly as communities, rather
than geographic place. These communities consisted of citizens linked by such tics as friendship,
family relationship and participation in government. The city-states of ancient Greek had
citizens, slaves or serfs aliens and non citizens. Greek laws and traditions gave citizens many
privileges but also imposed on them heavy responsibilities. Citizens were expected to vote,
attend the assembly, to serve as juries, to give milita1y services. Slaves had few rights and aliens
had almost none, but aliens did have personal freedom and protection of law. The Romans also
extended citizenship and promote libe1ty to free men thought the goal was different.
Middle Age --- The idea and practice of citizenship declined with the fall of Roman Empire and
the rise of feudalism in Europe. Millions people became serfs, vassals who owed service to the
lords of the land. Each serf owed allegiance (duty or loyalty) to the feudal lord, little thought of
citizenship. The political and legal relationship between the serfs and the king (assumed as a
state) was non-existent. Rather, the people were considered as subject<; than citizens
Modern Times--- As national governments grew in power, the people of each country began to
owe allegiance directly to one person, the king With the spread of democracy, development of
the economy sectors and the movement to secure rights, people transferred their allegiance from
the king to the state, (to the political body than the individual). Citizens of kingdom were called
subjects during allegiance to the king. But later on, the term citizens and natives replaced the
term subjects.
The definition of the term citizenship, if it is considered from its historical perspective, it implies
that a citizen was subject of a ruling class, which means servant/ tenant. On the other hand,
nationality(derived from nationhood or nationalism) was narrowly used to indicate a statues of a
person. The word citizenship is derived in a connection with the resident of a city. Gradually the
status of citizenship developed from city-state to nation-state implying a resident of one state.
nationality is a narrow concept whereas citizenship is more technical and broad. Therefore, the
handout uses the word citizenship more frequently.
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Moral & civic education Compiled by:-Tesfalem Churiso
3.Mode of Attaining Citizenship
A person acquires citizenship of a country in different ways
l By Birth
II. By Law
III. Dual Citizenship (Mixed System)
l By Birth-It has two ways of application (Ipso facto cases).
1 1 Jus Sanguinis--- It is a Latin phrase that means right of blood. The right that a child has
to citizenship in a country of it parents. lt refers to the bloodline or lineage (family tree)
which is explained in tem1s of legal blood of the child's father or /and mother. This
intern sub-divided into two parts.
1.1.1 Jus Sanguinis Paterni--- R.ight of blood of father.
1.1.2 Jus Sanguinis Materni--- Right of blood of mother
Ethiopia accepts the principles of legal blood of father and mother as a mode of attaining
Ethiopian citizenship.
l .2. Jus Soli--- It is a Latin phrase which means right of soil. The place where the child born
is also source of citizenship status, i.e. citizenship by birth place. Anglo-Saxon (common
law) countries mostly exercise citizenship by birth place. Ethiopia also enforces this
principle. A child born in one state territory the right to acquire citizenship but this is not
always true to all. For example, delegates of foreign countries vrith diplomatic mission
and international organization representatives and workers cannot claim citizenship
principle to the status international accreditation and enforcement
II. By Law-- The princip1e of law is the other way of acquiring citizenship status. There are
different possibilities of attaining citizenship by law.
2.1 Citizenship by Registration--- In article l 5(2) of Universal Declaration of Human Right
of United Nations, there is a citizenship rights, which state, "No one shall be denied the
right to (change his nationality". According to Oppenheim(as cited m Das, H 1994) there
are six modes of acquiring citizenship(nationality) through registration. Such kind of
citizenship acquired by registration is termed as naturalization.
2.1 1 Marriage --- if a woman marries a man of another country can have the possibility of
acquiring her husband's country citizenship. The woman has the option of choosing
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Moral & civic education Compiled by:-Tesfalem Churiso
citizenship of her husband's and canceling her own country(refer the annexed 1930
Ethiopian citizenship Decree article 4) Naturalization through marriage has an
international acceptance. The law of each state determine the citizenship of married
woman.
2.1.2 Legitimation--- This is citizenship by recognition. An illegitimate child has the right
to get his bio logical or caretaker father after Legitimation. Such process is usually
attributed to a father of multiple citizenship (refer to article 9 of the 1930 Ethiopian
Citizenship Decree).
2.1.3 Option--- A person of multiple citizenship has possibility to opt citizenship status of
one country.
2.1.4 Acquiring of Domicile--- This is a way of getting citizenship status when the
person is able to get permanent residence (residence permit).
2.1.5 Appointment as government official-this is citizenship by job. Some country grant
citizenship to person(s) who is (are) assigned to work with in their country.
2.1.6 Grant on Application--- Depending on their rules, different countries
adopt requirement to grant citizenship by application.
2.2 Citizenship by Political Case (Process) --- the political case refers to acquisition
of citizenship by conquest or cession of territory. Cession is voluntary process
whereas conquest is coercive act.
2.3 By Re-Integration --- A person who has lost his/ her citizenship due to some reason may
get it back if he/ she fulfill some conditions as laid down by the law of the state. This
process is known as the process of Re-integration or Restoration.
2.4 By Option --- This is a modem development due to the direct participation of the
inhabitants in their status of citizenship. In voluntary partition, cession or exchange of
territories option is given to the inhabitants to choose only citizenship of one state.
2.5 By Legislation --- The laws of 'the state govern principles of citizenship and it is the
law decides as to who would be considered national or citizen of the country. The state
legislature enacts laws regarding acquisition and loss of citizenship. A state confers
honorary citizenship to foreign dignitaries and people of prominence, if they accept the
conferment.
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Moral & civic education Compiled by:-Tesfalem Churiso
2.6 Citizenship by Special Case --- citizenship can be given to an individual or collectives
without under going a11 the legal procedures related to acquisition of citizenship. This
kind of provision of citizenship is called Functional Nationality.
2.7 Defacto Citizenship (Citizenship by Claim) --- A women (man) can marry another
national without undergoing the required legal procedure of marriage. Under such
condition the married woman (man) can possibly claim citizenship of her husband's (his
wife's) country. Su.ch kind of citizenship by claim /assumption/ is termed as Apparent
Nationality.
Ill Dut1I Citizenship (Mixed system)-- A person sometimes finds himself herself with two
citizenships because the possibility is available due to the existence of citizenship laws. When a
person has citizenship status of two countries, it is termed as Dual Citizenship (Nationality). A
person may have one because of his/her place of birth (Jus Soli) and another because of his/her
parent's citizenship by blood (Jus Sm1guinis). Some people have dual citizenship as a result of
naturalization.
4. Modes of Loosing Citizenship
Various states adopt different principles on those citizens who violate the nation citizenship law.
The following points discuss the various modes of loosing citizenship.
I. Renunciation (Expatriation) --- The United Nation Declaration of Human Right of
1948(article 15 sub article 2)provide the right to the individual to renounce his/her
citizenship(nationality) and seek the citizenship (nationality) of some other state according
to his/her choice.
Condition of renunciation
A. Most countries recognize the right of many citizen to expatiate himself/herself or
give up his/her allegiance (loyalty) to one country for allegiance of another
country. A person give up his citizenship in one country when he is naturalized
in another, if the country he/she leaves recognizes his/her right of expatriation. In
such condition the person ceases to be citizen of the former state.
B. The personal decision of a person to renounce or give up his/her citizenship
emanates when the state harasses the person(s) and when the person dislike the
policies or politics or ideologies pursued by the state.
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Moral & civic education Compiled by:-Tesfalem Churiso
II. Deprivation --- A citizen of a state may be deprived of his/her citizenship, if he/she is
guilty of committing certain serious crimes against the state. Such as:-
• To make access national secrets to alien country
• To side enemy state force in time of war (to take up arms against his her country)
• To carry out diplomatic, economic, political and military intelligence to another state
within his/her state.
Ill. Substitution --- Citizenship may be lost his/her original citizenship is substituted by
another state, which he acquires through naturalization. On the other side this may also
take place when a particular territory is annexed by another state, the inhabitants
citizenship within the annexed territory wi1l be rep1aced by the citizenship of the subjugator.
IV. Lapse --- Citizenship may be lost, if the person stays outside of his/her country for a long
and continues period.
3. Who is entitled to Citizenship?
The following elements are entitled to citizenship state.
I. To Human beings--- All person irrespective of religion, race color .. etc. as long as
they have the right to be citizens. Citizenship is a right but not a privilege.
Citizenship is not a status that is conferred by the will of government but is a right of
every person born within the confines of the state territory.
2. Institution, Plant, Animals and Materials (dehumanized element) that have legal
status.
Example--- commercial organizations and associations, registered ships and
planes, endemic animals and plants... etc.
Dehumanized elements cannot be categorized under direct citizenship status. The
term direct citizenship refers to human elements exercising the title of citizenship
directly without the approval or the will of any political body.
