Bola A. Akinterinwa Birth-right Citizenship is one of the methods of acquiring the citizenship of a country in international law and relations. It falls within the purview of the principle of ius soli according to which nationality is acquired at the time and place of birth.
Ius soli is a Latin phrase meaning the ‘right of the soil,’ and referred to as ‘jus soli’ in French language. In the United States, it is also known as ‘birth-right citizenship. Citizenship in the United States is basically acquired by ius soli (right of birth place) or ius sanguinis (right of blood), that is, right of blood descent from parents and grandparents that were or are American citizens.
The logic is that the country of citizenship of a child cannot be different from that of his or her parents. Notably, birth-right citizenship in international relations is not the only condition for citizenship acquisition. It also has different conditionality for its acquisition in many countries.
For instance, in the United States, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution provides for citizenship to people born on US soil or in places under the jurisdiction of the United States on the basis of jus soli. However, the children of foreign Heads of State or foreign diplomatic agents are not entitled. Details of conditions for citizenship acquisition are contained in the US Immigration and Nationality Act.
More importantly, it is this issue of birth-right citizenship that has not only divided the US Pres.
