Article 16 — Deprivation

1. 1.

   A national may be deprived of Kaharagian nationality by sovereign decree where the national has:

   1. Obtained nationality through fraud, false statements, or concealment of material facts.
   2. Committed treason, rebellion, or taken up arms against the Sovereign or the State.
   3. Rendered voluntary and material aid or service to a foreign power or organisation that the Sovereign has declared to be hostile to the State.
   4. Engaged in conduct that constitutes a grave and manifest repudiation of allegiance, namely the public renunciation of the Sovereign’s authority or the persistent and deliberate refusal to comply with lawful obligations owed to the State.
2. 2.

   Deprivation shall not be pronounced if it would render the person stateless, except:

   1. Where nationality was obtained by fraud, false statements, or concealment of material facts.
   2. Where the Sovereign expressly determines that deprivation is necessary for reasons of state security.
3. 3.

   Before a decree of deprivation is made, the following procedural safeguards shall be observed:

   1. The person shall be given written notice specifying the grounds on which deprivation is proposed.
   2. The person shall be afforded a reasonable period, not less than sixty days from the date of notice, in which to submit written representations to the Royal Chancellery in their defence.
   3. The Royal Chancellery shall consider all representations received and shall submit them to the Sovereign together with its recommendation.
   4. The person may be assisted by counsel of their own choosing in the preparation of their representations.
4. 4.

   The procedural safeguards in paragraph 3 may be dispensed with, in whole or in part, only where:

   1. The person cannot be located after reasonable efforts by the Royal Chancellery, in which case notice shall be given by publication in the Royal Kaharagian Gazette and such other means as are reasonably likely to give the person notice; or
   2. The Sovereign determines that the urgency of the matter, by reason of an immediate and serious threat to the security of the State, does not permit the full observance of the procedure, in which case the person shall be afforded the opportunity to make representations as soon as practicable after the decree.
5. 5.

   The decree of deprivation shall state the grounds upon which it is made.

6. 6.

   Deprivation takes effect from the date of the decree, unless the decree specifies otherwise. Acts validly performed by the person while a national are not retroactively invalidated by deprivation.

7. 7.

   Proceedings for deprivation must be commenced within ten years of the date on which the grounds for deprivation first became known to the Royal Chancellery, except in cases of fraud under paragraph 1(a), where no time limit applies.