Birthright Citizenship: Trends and Regulations in Europe

Abstract

In this paper we use the term ‘citizenship’ to refer to the legal relation between a person and a state, as recognised in international law. This status is often also referred to as ‘nationality’, particularly in international legal documents, and whenever citing directly from such documents, or from national laws, we cite the term as used in the original document. The terms ‘citizenship’ and ‘nationality’ are thus generally used as synonyms (see also EUDO Citizenship Glossary). We also refer to State, State Party, Contracting Party, or Member State, with capital letters, only when citing directly from international or national legal documents. In all other cases we use ‘state’, ‘contracting state’, ‘member state’, or ‘country’, without capital letters.