BY CAROL-ANNE SULEGA
ACCORDING to the tentative hearing schedule provided by the National Parliament of Solomon Islands, the Bills and Legislation Committee (BLC) will commence hearings into the Constitution (Amendment) (Dual Citizenship) Bill 2017 tomorrow.
The objective of the Bill is to remove the Constitutional prohibition on dual citizenship and to clarify that holding dual citizenship prevents a person from being a Member of Parliament.
This will facilitate the return and reintegration of Solomon Islands citizens by birth or ancestry who lost their citizenship by reasons of marriage, forced labour or naturalisation in another country.
It will also allow naturalised Solomon Islands citizen to regain or retain their birth nationality.
The policy to allow citizenship of more than one country is an exponentially growing trend in the 21st century.
It provides social, economic, family, employment and study opportunities by providing ease of movement between country of origin and country of residence for eligible persons.
The proposed legislation will repeal section 23 of the Constitution on avoidance of dual nationality.
Section 49 of the Constitution will be amended as well on disqualifications from being a Member of Parliament (MP).
