Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Community law Interpretation Account to be taken of declarations Declarations by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the definition of the term nationals

(1972 Act of Accession, Declaration by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the definition of the term nationals, replaced by the 1982 Declaration)

Summary

$$The 1972 Declaration by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the definition of the term nationals, annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty concerning the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the European Communities, must be taken into consideration as an instrument relating to the Treaty for the purpose of its interpretation and, more particularly, for determining the scope of the Treaty ratione personae.

Although unilateral, this declaration was intended to clarify an issue of particular importance for the other Contracting Parties inasmuch as it was intended to define those United Kingdom nationals who would benefit from the provisions of the Treaty and, in particular, from the provisions relating to the free movement of persons. The other Contracting Parties were fully aware of its content and the conditions of accession were determined on that basis. Furthermore, adoption of that declaration did not have the effect of depriving any person who did not satisfy the definition of a national of the United Kingdom of rights to which that person might be entitled under Community law but rather had the consequence that such rights never arose in the first place for such a person.

The 1982 Declaration by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the definition of the term nationals was an adaptation of the 1972 Declaration necessitated by the adoption, in 1981, of a new Nationality Act. It substantially designated the same categories of persons as the 1972 Declaration and has not been challenged by the other Member States. It follows that reference must be made to this latter declaration in order to determine whether a person is a national of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the purposes of Community law.

( see paras 23 to 27 and operative part )