Liberians’ Future And Standing to Sue
The passionate and spirited debate as to whether Liberians residing abroad having freely and willingly naturalized and accepted the citizenship of their host countries are constitutionally or unconstitutionally deprived of their Liberian citizenship status or not, has intensely and strangely drawn a bitter line of separation between Liberians residing in the United States and back home in Liberia. Some Liberians in the United States and back home are forcefully and passionately arguing that where a group of Liberians freely and voluntarily naturalized and become citizens of countries, order than the Republic of Liberia, for all intents and purposes, these denaturalized and former Liberians citizens are automatically known as aliens and former citizens of the Republic of Liberia. Accordingly, these denaturalized and former citizens of Liberia being aliens, they are not entitled to the protection of the statutory and constitutional laws of Liberia. There are others that are strongly and passionately countering and contending that the 1956 Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia, standing alone, on its face, violates their due process’ rights and thus this law remains repugnant to Liberia’s Constitution. So, what legally appears to be a class action seeking to obtain a declaratory judgment from the out of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia has been filed and is being prosecuted by some denaturalized Liberians before the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia. Accordingly, these denaturalized Liberians are claiming that Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law unlawfully violates their due process’ rights, the Constitution of Liberia, and therefore, same must be declared unconstitutional.
Is Liberia’s current Aliens and Nationality Law purposefully enacted to regulate Liberia’s immigration constitutional or unconstitutional? Whether constitutional or unconstitutional, what standing do denaturalized Liberian citizens have to sue and reclaim their purported lost Liberian citizenship status?
Liberian Citizens’ Standing to Sue
As a basic requirement and general principle of law, a Liberian citizen who specifically and personally claims that he is personally injured by the unlawful action of the Government of Liberia, that Liberian citizen, under the doctrine of standing, shall have the right or standing to sue and reclaim the restoration of his rights against the Government of Liberia. Further, to determine that a natural born or naturalized citizen of Liberia has legitimately acquired the standing or right to sue, and that such standing, or rights, are derived from the alleged unlawful action of the Government of Liberia, that aggrieved Liberian citizen must prove that the action complained of has personally caused him present harm or will likely cause him the threat of future harm and that that action has potentially and personally injured him. Moreover, Liberians that complained and claimed that they have been unlawfully deprived of their Liberian citizenship status by the unlawful action of the Government of Liberia, by enacting Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law, such group of Liberians, legally and fully bears the burden of proof to establish that the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia purposefully established to regulate Liberia’s immigration has specifically and directly injured them; although it was purposefully established to regulate Liberia’s immigration.
As a matter of statutory construction and interpretation, the fact that some Liberian citizens claimed that the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia takes away or deprives them of their citizenship status, whether natural born, or naturalized citizens of Liberia, standing alone, cannot and will not meet the elementary test of establishing that as Liberian citizens, purposefully and personally, they been personally injured by the Aliens and Nationality Law of Law of Liberia and that this Law on its face, is in violation of their due process’ rights and Liberia’s Constitution, and therefore, Liberia’s Aliens and National Law must be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia. In short, there can be action at law where there is no injury caused by an adverse litigant.
The fact that a group of Liberian citizens claims that the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia takes away or deprives them of their Liberian citizenship status, whether natural born or naturalized citizens standing alone, cannot and will not stand the simple test of standing and does not give them the right to sue. Absence, the unlawful application of force or undue influence by the Government of Liberia and where a group of denaturalized Liberians without duress or the unlawful action of the Government of Liberia freely chose to naturalize and accept the citizenship of their host countries, such denaturalized Liberians having intentionally and voluntarily naturalized and become citizens of countries order than Liberia, and where the citizenship of such denaturalized and former Liberian citizens are not directly called into question by the Government of Liberia, there is no case or dispute of adverse effect between the Government of Liberia and such denaturalized Liberians. That being the case, such denaturalized Liberians have no standing or right to sue and demand the restoration of their former Liberian citizenship status from the Government of Liberia. Legally, the Courts of Liberia are never empowered to issue out unjustified and unsubstantiated declaratory judgments or advisory opinions where there is no real case or controversy of adverse effect to be decided.
In Liberia, where there is no real and an immediate danger to the legal interest of a litigant or where there is no real case or actual dispute between litigants to have adverse legal effect to their interests, a case or controversy does not exist; and therefore, there is no standing to sue. Where a Liberian or group of Liberians fails to specifically, directly, personally and clearly prove that he or they are individually and personally injured or will be injured by the unlawful action of the Government of Liberia, or by the enactment of the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia, a law purely intended to regulate Liberia’s immigration, such denaturalized and former Liberians, have no standing to sue. As a defined principle and requirement of law, people generally do not have standing to sue simply because they are citizens of a given country and claimed that they are adversely affected by certain statutory provision of that country; unless where, they are within the zone of interest that their Legislators intended to protect; especially, where the harm or injury that they are attempting to prove is generally too broad and legally too imprecise. That being the case, where there is no actual and real dispute between denaturalized and former Liberians claiming that their citizenship has been unlawfully taken away from them by bringing into being Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law and such Liberians having chosen to freely and intentionally naturalized and become citizens of their host countries, there being no direct challenge from the Liberian Government, a case or controversy does not exist and therefore they have no standing or right to sue. Courts are never established or called upon to particularly provide advisory opinions and so for a court to specifically enter a specific judgment there must be a real case adverse to the interests of a plaintiff and a defendant. For denaturalized and former Liberian citizens to have the standing to sue there must be a specific present or future harm or injury to their legal interest and the interest of the Government of Liberia. Liberians that have naturalized in their host countries and freely accepted citizenship of those countries are considered aliens consistent with Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law, if not repealed. So, their challenge to Section 22.1-22.4 of the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia being legally unwarranted and unprovoked by any direct action of the Government of Liberia, such contentions are legally flawed and flatly unsustainable by the courts of Liberia.
What then, is the future of denaturalized and former citizens of Liberia, since Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law does not support and allow for dual citizenship? These denaturalized and former Liberians citizens have forever and permanently lost their Liberian citizenship; whether by birth or naturalization, if Sections 22.1-22.4 of the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia are not repealed and reformed. Aliens And Nationality Law of Liberia, sections 22.1 to 22.4, Liberian Codes of Law Reversed, Vol. II, PP193-195.
States’ Rights to Regulate Immigration
Whether acceptable or unacceptable to Liberian citizens or former citizens of Liberia or not, all sovereign and independent states absolutely have and reserve the supreme right to admit or exclude all aliens from their lands. Such sovereign and self-governing rights include the right to grant asylee and refugee status to aliens; admit them as lawful permanent residents; and further along the process, grant to such aliens naturalization and citizenship rights; or totally deny an alien absolute admission to any immigration status. The right of a state to admit or not admit an alien on its shoreline is an absolute right vested in the state and a privilege extended to all aliens. Some states may grant under their modernized and reformed statutory provisions, consistent with their alien and nationality laws, the right to naturalize and hold dual citizenship and some states do not. That means that after naturalization and admission, an alien may choose to maintain the citizenship of his country of birth as well as his naturalized country. Nevertheless, this modernized policy of many members of the international community is a privileged extended and not a right accorded to an alien. Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law of 1956, especially sections 22.1 and 22.2 do not grant dual citizenship to Liberians after they voluntarily choose to naturalize and become citizens of their host countries. So, Sections 22.1 and 22.2 legally and precisely only give notice to all Liberians that after denaturalization, any such Liberians who so denaturalized are aliens and denied all rights and protections provided for and contained under Liberia’s Constitution and the Statutory laws of Liberia. Standing alone, on face, both in law and fact, Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law violates no Liberian’s due process rights. Aliens And Nationality Law of Liberia, Section 22.2, 22.2, 22.3 and 22.4, Liberian Codes Reversed, Vol. II, PP 193-195; Amended and Approved May 9, 1974.
So, denaturalized citizens of Liberia having voluntarily and intentionally naturalized and accepted to become citizens of their hosts countries, including the United States of America, Europe and elsewhere, they have not sustained any adverse harmful or involuntary injuries for which they have not the right to challenge the constitutionality of the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia. The Aliens and Nationality of Law of Liberia, though written and passed into law since 54 years ago, appears outdated, problematic, and may be woefully unresponsive to modern day process of law making and the needs of its people, Section 22.1-22.4, are not unconstitutional. Thus, this law shall remain a major part of the Aliens and National Law of Liberia and Liberia’s body of laws, unless same is repealed and accordingly reformed by the Government of Liberia. Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law violates no Liberian’s rights.
Unforeseeable and Consequential Challenges
Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law was written and signed into law by the President of Liberia in 1956. This means that Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law is 54 years old. Since 1956 to 2010, Liberia has undergone many unforeseeable and consequential changes. (i) Presidents William V.S. Tubman and William R. Tolbert, both descendants of freed slaves ruled Liberia between 1944 and 1970; and 1970 to 1980; (ii) President William V.S. Tubman is believed to have died from natural causes in 1970; (iii) President William R. Tolbert was unlawfully toppled in a bloody military coup and murdered along with 13 cabinet ministers of Liberia on April 12, 1980; (iv) From 1989 to 2003, Liberia was engulfed in a bloody armed conflict that particularly destroyed Liberia and killed about 300, 000 Liberians and residents of Liberia.
From 1990 to 2003, Liberia was ruled by five interim transitional and extra-constitutional governments; (v) from January 2006 to 2010 Liberia is being governed by an elected constitutional government; (vi) Liberia’s 1847 Constitution was rewritten and ratified in 1986; (vii) between 1990 to today, more than 500,000 Liberian fled Liberia and sought refuge and safety in United States and other parts of the World; (viii) Certainly for the first time in Africa’s and Liberia’s history, Liberia has constitutionally elected a female president and a former elected president of Liberia is indicted and charged with the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity and is being prosecuted by the specialized War Crimes Court of Sierra Leone, West Africa, for the first time in Liberia’s history.
Although Liberia’s present government is far from being geo-politically balanced, many native Liberians are highly represented in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of the Government of Liberia and there appears to be some minute and diminutive constitutional, financial revenue and power sharing; (xi) the presidency of Liberia is still woefully over-valued and dominating of all functions and activities of the Legislative and Judiciary Branches of the Government of Liberia; (x) Impressively, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the (TRC) was courageous and bold enough to publicly sanction and hold Liberia’s elected and sitting president accountable for allegedly helping to finance Liberia’s war from 1980 to 2003; (xi) and Liberia’s alleged warlords and war criminals were recommended for prosecution for allegedly committing economic, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia. Apart from the foregoing occurrences and changes in Liberia’s history that caused many Liberians to flee Liberia and take refuge and safety abroad, become refugees, asylees, lawful permanent residents, and citizens of their host countries for compelling safety and security reasons, Liberia’s 1956 Aliens and Nationality Law is actively alive and denying citizenship to non-negroes and dual citizenship to its denaturalized and war afflicted citizens. If left to stand, Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law, thought constitutional, will continue to have actual and direct moral effect on its traumatized citizens.
So, are sections 22.1; 22.2; 22.3 and 22.4 of Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law violative of due process and repugnant to the Constitution of Liberia to empower denaturalized Liberians to sue and compel the Government of Liberia to legally restore their presumed lost Liberian citizenship status?
Repeal and Reform Liberia’s Immigration Law
Section 22.1 of Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law states that a person who is a citizen of Liberia whether by birth or naturalization, shall loose his citizenship by:--
Obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own application, upon the application of a duly authorized agent, or through the naturalization of a parent having legal custody of such person; provided that citizenship shall not be lost by any person under this section as the result of the naturalization of a parent or parents while such person is under the age of 21 years, unless such person shall fail to enter Liberia to establish a permanent residence prior to his twenty-third birthday; or
Taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof; or
Exercising a free choice to enter or serve in the armed forces of a foreign state, unless, prior to such entry or service, such entry of service is specifically authorized by the President of Liberia;
Voting in political election in a foreign state or voting in an election or plebiscite to determine the sovereignty of a foreign state over foreign territory; or
Making of a formal renunciation of Liberian nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of Liberia in a foreign state in such form may be prescribed by the Secretary of State; Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Section 22.2, states that the loss of citizenship becomes immediate and effective, where a Liberian or group of Liberian citizens has knowingly and intentionally violated any of the provisions starting from letter (a) to (e) of section 22.1 of Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law. All ambassadors, diplomatic or consular officers of Liberia are mandated to report the fact of all denaturalized citizens to the Secretary of State (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and a copy of a certificate of loss of Liberian citizenship shall be forwarded to the Attorney General of Liberia; Minister of Justice of the Republic of Liberia. Aliens And Nationality Law of Liberia, sections 22.1-22.4, Liberian Codes Revised Vol. II,PP 193-195, Amended and Approved May 9, 1974.
Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law as cited above, is too outdated, distasteful and problematic; if not repealed and reformed by the Government of Liberia. Apart from being realistic, outdated, problematic and perhaps xenophobic, Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law does not violate Liberia’s Constitution because it was enacted to simply regulate Liberia’s immigration. That being said, Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law that grants citizenship to only people of color and unjustly denies dual citizenship to its denaturalized and former citizens is immoral, discriminatory and racially prejudiced and therefore must be repealed and reformed to meet modern day reality and law making status.
Since 1990 to today, Liberians residing abroad have completely formed economic and developmental partnership with Liberia and they are major supporters of Liberia’s economic growth and development; and therefore, denaturalized Liberians must not immorally and unfairly be punished disproportionately for simply being nationalistic and supportive of Liberia. Sections 22.1-22.4 of the Aliens and Nationality Law of Liberia must and should be repealed and reformed.
A Statement of Support for Dual Citizenship by the Association of Liberian Lawyers in the Americas (ALLA), issued this 7th day of September, A.D 2010.
Above All Else, the Rule of Law First.
Frederick A.B. Jayweh, B.A., LL.B., LL.M.
Counsellor-At-Law & Executive Director
Association of Liberian Lawyers in the Americas (ALLA)
4111 Odessa Street, Suite # 2, Denver, CO 80249
E-mail: fjayweh@hotmail.com
Website: www.liberianlawyers.org
Office Phone: 303-656-o611