Legal Analysis of Citizenship and Immigration Laws in Somalia
Abstract:Concerns about Somalian citizenship were present throughout the last century and remain on the agenda today. The study's goal is to provide a more comprehensive picture of citizenship arrangements and to illuminate the connections between the colonial period, post-colonial discourses, and contemporary discourses. The study relies on doctrinal methods whereby the two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1962 Somali Citizenship law and 1963 Somali Citizenship regulations; the Constitution of Somalia 2012 as amended; and the Civil Code of 1865 of Italy, among others, in addition to secondary materials, textbooks, etc. The study found that no rights were given to anyone born in the territory of Somalia to Jus soli, or birthright citizenship, as part of the English common law, in contrast to Jus sanguinis, or right of blood, from Roman law. The study concludes that the citizen is one of the cornerstone pillars of the sovereign state. If citizenship did not exist, then there would be no country. The study recommends that the government of Somalia should abrogate and re-organize the citizenship regime once and for all since it creates a substantial and consequential choice about responsibility, governing, and their actions on a daily basis.
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