STATUS IN MARRIAGE

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 32, 1 November 1933, Page 7

STATUS IN MARRIAGE

Empire’s Differing Laws NATIONALITY OF WOMEN Questions of nationality with regard to marriage between Britons and foreigners were discussed at the British Commonwealth Relations Conference held in Toronto in September last. The following report has been received of the conclusions arrived at on the subject by one of the commissions set up by the conference. During the deliberations of the commission, the report states, a Canadian member referred th the reeommenda- ■ tion of the Imperial Conference of .1930 that the members of the British Commonwealth should introduce legislation to give effect to Articles 8-10 of the Nationality Convention, agreed to and signed by all the members of the Commonwealth af The Hague Conference of 1930. These articles, which deal with the uationality of married women, are as follow. — Article 8: If the national law of the wife causes her to lose her uationality on marriage with a foreigner, ; this consequence shall be conditional on her acquiring the nationality of the husband. Article 9: If the national law of the wife causes her to lose her nationalIty upon a cliunge in the nationality of her husband occurring during marriage. this consequence shall be conditional on her acquiring her husband’s new nationality. Article 10: Naturalisation of the busband during marriage shall not. involve a change in the nationality of the wife except with her consent. It was pointed out that Canada has a very special interest in this problem owing to the uationality law of 'the U.S.A. Under that law a British woman national who marries a citizen of the U.S.A, does not acquire the uationality of her husband, although under her own law she loses her British nationality. Canada has passed a statute applying the articles referred to. to women domiciled in Canada. This Statute was brought into operation bv a proclamation of January 15, 1932. It was further stated that neither the United Kingdom nor any other Dominion except Canada has so far taken any step to give legislative effect to the articles, in pursuance of the recommendation of the Imperial Conference. The question was raised as to whether courts in other parts of the Commonwealth would give effect to the Canadian statute, and reference was made to the extra-territorial section of the statute of Westminster. A Canadian speaker invited members from other delegations to consider whether their Governments should not enact similar legislation. A member of the United Kingdom delegation stated that there was considerable, although In his opinion illadvised, opposition to the course suggested on the ground that it did net go far enough. The commission appreciated the urgency of this matter to Canada and its importance to the whole Commonwealth having regard not only to the merits of the question, but also to the undesirability of differing laws as to nationality in different parts of the Empire. All members of the commission considered that the attention of the Governments concerned should be directed to the matter.