Decision of the Court of the Prince
re Naturalization of Rei Miľarna
Rei Miľarna (“the applicant”) applied for naturalization in the Union on 8 February 2013. Her application stated that she was a national or a citizen of Safiria, Natopia, Shireroth, Alexandria, Ashkenatza, Craitland, Gotzborg and St Charlie. The application further stated her intimate association with the Shirerithian citizens Kai Jackson, Amane, Sila, and the Safirian empress Keita the Fifth.
The Chancellor of the Court, Aurangzeb Khan of Vijayanagara al-Osman, rejected the application, while, at the same time, the Councillor for Peace and Kinetics appended a notice of concern over the applicant due to her risk of being a threat to the national security.
The applicant subsequently appealed the rejection of her naturalization to me, the prince, who convened the Council of Eliria to assess the appeal and its merits.
The Council of Eliria met on a special meeting from 8 February to 12 February, during which the appeal was discussed from the points of view of law, national community sanity and past precedents.
I heard submissions from the Chancellor of the Court and the Councillors for Arts and Protocol, Peace and Kinetics, the Proliferation of the Union, the Nations. With the Council unable to give me an unequivocal advice, I asked the Councillors in an individual capacity to make new submissions.
Assessing these, I have considered:
1. the Charter
2. the Elwynnese Nationality Act
3. the status of the applicant as a former Kaiseress of Shireroth
4. the divisive nature of the applicant's politics, policies and rhetoric
5. potential threats to the national security posed by the applicant
The Charter refers to nationality clauses 1, 3, 4, 5, 45 and 47, while only clause 45 mention the acquisition of nationality through naturalization. The applicable parts of this clause reads “The Prince has the power of decree in matters of [...] immigration, border security [...], naturalization of foreigners or in other matters delegated to him by the Senate.”
Nowhere in the Charter is naturalization a right but the spirit of the Charter is such that all things may be heard. See, for example, clause 23 which reads: “Everyone within the Union has right to, without having to purchase it, recourse to the laws for all injuries and wrongs that he or she may have received in person, property or character. The individual enjoys freedom to obtain right and justice freely in conformity with law.”
Section 3 of the Elwynnese Nationality Act states that Elwynnese nationality is acquired by right of claim, conferment by law or naturalization. With the applicant seeking nationality by naturalization, only the applicable parts on naturalization will be taken into consideration, which is Section 6. It reads “Any person may apply to the Court of the Prince for naturalization. Such application shall include what the Court of the Prince finds necessary to process it. The act of naturalization is effected by a recorded decision by the Court of the Prince".
The applicant is a former Kaiseress of Shireroth. Going under the regal name Rei I, the applicant was active in the negotiations between the Court of the Prince and the Mango Court that resulted in the Treaty of Eliria. Failing in the Landsraad, the treaty did however result in an understanding from the applicant over the plights and needs of the free Elwynnese. I am satisfied that this rapport has contributed to her application for naturalization. Like her, I am a former Kaiser from Shireroth who defected to Free Elwynn.
With the applicant’s close alignment with Shireroth, the question of national security had to be taken into consideration. Those assessments will for reasons of national security not be reproduced here.
The applicant is on the other hand a divisive character. Her politics is alien to most of Elwynn, as are her rhetoric and style. When a person is naturalized into the Elwynnese Nation, she becomes a member, a limb of the body-politic, and this must be harmonious and aligned with the spirit of the Nation. On this count, closest advice was sought. The Council noted, however, that over time, the applicant has taken on a more mature style in rhetoric and style. I find that this no longer can be an impediment for a mere effecting of her naturalization. That said, any rise of the applicant to other parts of government would be subject to those authorities’ internal structures.
For these reasons, the appeal of the applicant is accepted and I effect the immediate naturalization of Rei Miľarna.
I have been asked to include the distinct statements of dissent by the Chancellor of the Court and the Councillor for the Nations over this decision. They read:
"It is the opinion of the Chancellor of the Court that any person who renounces their Humanity by professing to be of a fundamentally alien nature cannot be considered a Natural Person and should not be accorded naturalisation."
"It is the opinion of the Councillor for Peace and Kinetics that, given both past and recent events, the applicant is a grave risk to national security, having an exceedingly high potential to become a liability if afforded anything beyond the most basic and lowest-level position of authority."
PRINCE OF ELWYNN