Bahamian Citizenship Arguments Heard at Privy Council

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Privy Council hearing arguments on Bahamian citizenship Tuesday.

The question? Whether the Constitution of The Bahamas confers citizenship at birth on a person born in The Bahamas who is the child of an unmarried foreign woman and a Bahamian man.

 In May 2020, current Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder ruled that children born out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women are entitled to citizenship from birth.

Winder departed from an earlier ruling by former Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall,, which said that children born out of wedlock could only inherit citizenship through their Bahamian mothers.

Winder’s ruling came after Two Bahamian men with children born to Haitian and Jamaican women challenged the interpretation of the  constitution after their offspring were denied Bahamian passports.

The Attorney General appealed the ruling in the public’s interest. However, in 2021 the Court of Appeal by a majority of three to two upheld Winder’s decision.

The law lords of Privy Council are now tasked with deciding which interpretation of Article 6 of the Constitution is correct.