Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The child's right to a nationality and the acquisition of citizenship in South African law |
Author: | Keightley, Raylene |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | South African Journal on Human Rights |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 411-429 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | nationality children's rights |
External link: | https://doi.org/10.1080/02587203.1998.11834985 |
Abstract: | The child's right to a nationality is recognized in international human rights conventions and also in the South African 1996 Constitution. This article examines the extent to which the provisions in the South African Citizenship Act (Act 88 of 1995) regulating the acquisition of citizenship can be said to respect the right of the child to a nationality. Underlying the inquiry is the question of when the right of the State to determine nationality must yield to the right of the child to have a nationality. The article adopts both an international and a domestic legal perspective in view of the fact that South Africa has assumed both international and constitutional obligations to respect the right of the child to a nationality. South African citizenship may be acquired under the Act by birth, descent or naturalization, each of which are examined in turn. The article concludes that in relation to the right of the child to a nationality, the Act seems to raise more questions than it provides answers. However, in relation to South Africa's international obligations, the Act measures up well to the standards set. Notes, ref. |