Memorial Laws and Nationality: Spain’s Experience

Aim. To analyze Spain’s experience of regulating citizenship through memorial laws or laws devoted to preservation and protection of historical memory to identify current trends in the institution of citizenship and its substitutes.

Methodology. The key research method was the formal legal approach, which made it possible for the author to analyze the citizenship norms enshrined in memorial laws and other Spanish legal acts in their original languages. For example, the author has compared approaches to the interpretation of the subinstitution of option in Spain and Russia, identifying its characteristics inherent to the Spanish tradition, using a comparative legal approach. The article presents the views of Russian researchers on the nature of memorial laws and international scholars on the characteristic features of the sub-institutions of citizenship: option and the issuance of a naturalization certificate.

Results. Using the results obtained through analysis of Spain’s experience the author concludes that with the adoption of memorial laws, the sub-institution of option, traditionally viewed in Spanish doctrine as a means of acquiring acquired citizenship, is now being transformed into a method of acquiring citizenship by birth. In turn, the sub-institution for issuing a naturalization certificate, rather than being a simple, simplified method for admitting foreigners to the country’s citizenship, is becoming a multifunctional and interdisciplinary sub-institution capable of addressing not only public law but also social issues.

Research implications. The experience of Spain in regulating the issues of granting citizenship by memorial laws is disclosed.

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