Nationality Law Rejected! Constitutional Court Rules Key Provisions Unconstitutional
After a 25-day public consultation period, Constitutional Court judges announced this Monday that several provisions of the Nationality Law are unconstitutional. The ruling responds to two requests filed by the Socialist Party (PS). The bill will now be sent to Belém Palace accompanied by a statement of unconstitutionality, after which the President will return it to the Assembly of the Republic.
The judges at the Constitutional Court examined issues raised in two preventive constitutional review requests submitted by the PS after failing to reach an agreement with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in Parliament.
In its public reading of the decision, the Court unanimously found that three out of four contested provisions in the Nationality Law amendment decree are unconstitutional. It also struck down the clause allowing loss of nationality as an additional criminal penalty.
The President of the Constitutional Court explained that one of the unconstitutional provisions automatically barred anyone sentenced to two or more years in prison under Portuguese law from acquiring Portuguese nationality.
He stated: 'Given that this provision prevents an individualized assessment of the extent to which such convictions actually break the applicant’s concrete ties to Portuguese society, the Court—based on its established and consistently reaffirmed jurisprudence—declared it incompatible with Article 26(1), Article 18(2), and Article 30(4) of the Constitution.'
A third unconstitutional provision concerned nationality applications pending on the date the amendment entered into force. It stipulated that approval would depend on whether legal requirements were met at the time of application submission, rather than under the law in force at the time the decision was made—as is currently the case. Judge José João Abrantes of the Constitutional Court explained:
'The Court holds that this provision violates the principle of protection of legitimate expectations, which is part of the rule of law enshrined in Article 2 of the Constitution, as it undermines the reasonable reliance of applicants—whose cases remain pending—on the legal framework applicable at the time they submitted their applications.'
Additionally, the Court also declared unconstitutional a provision allowing the revocation of nationality registration if a citizen 'clearly and openly rejects affiliation with the national community, its representative institutions, and national symbols.'
The Court reasoned that since the provision offered no guidance on what types or patterns of conduct could constitute such rejection, citizens could not foresee—with even minimal certainty—what actions might disqualify them from acquiring Portuguese nationality.
André Ventura, leader of the Chega party and presidential candidate, expressed hope that the Constitutional Court would uphold the law’s validity. On October 28, Parliament approved two decrees—one amending the Nationality Law and the other the Penal Code—by 157 votes in favor (from the PSD/CDS-PP coalition) and 64 against (from PS, IL, BE, and PCP). Both decrees originated from the PSD/CDS-PP coalition government’s legislative proposal.
Because the approval received more than two-thirds of parliamentary votes, the decrees may still be confirmed despite the Court’s ruling, as permitted under the Constitution.
Speaking about 'national consensus,' Chega leader André Ventura said today that he hopes the Constitutional Court will understand that 'the people want change' and ultimately validate the Nationality Law.
After submitting the signatures required to confirm his presidential candidacy, Ventura told reporters that he would respect the Court’s decision regardless of the outcome: 'Chega and the PSD engaged in very careful cooperation to reach this consensus. I hope the Constitutional Court does not strike down this Nationality Law.'