ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Santiago Dresen

Santiago Dresen is currently pursuing a master’s in European law at Leiden University and is a research intern at the Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER) at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague, The Netherlands.

POSTS BY Santiago Dresen

12 May 2025

Santiago Dresen

The Nationality Lottery

On 24 March 2025, the Amsterdam District Court issued a consequential judgement on deprivation of nationality after a terrorist conviction. The ruling stated that the Dutch government could not revoke the nationality of a person convicted of terrorism-related crimes, declaring it a violation of the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnic origin. The judgement marks a departure from previous case law established by the Council of State – the highest administrative court in the Netherlands – as it reconceptualizes the issue of deprivation of nationality as one of direct discrimination based on ethnic origin. However, it fails to provide a clear explanation for its reasoning and seems to conflate nationality with ethnicity. Continue reading >>