The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the ban on holding the nationality of another state than that of the Republic of Moldova imposed on service members and students of higher military education institutions. The Court said these limitations are not proportional to the goal of ensuring loyalty to the state, affecting the right to work and study, in breach of the constitutional provisions, IPN reports.

In a press release, the Court says the loyalty of service members to the state is ensured by constitutional and legal norms, not by such bans. The taken military oath represents assumption of responsibility by obeying military laws and regulations, while the violation of the constitutional and legal duties entails legal responsibility. Thus, the service member can be held accountable for treason, revealing of state secrets, arbitrary leaving of the battlefield or refusal to use weapons.

The Court took such a decision based on relevant national and international norms, making reference to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Under the European Convention on Nationality, Moldova is obliged to make sure that the Moldovans who also hold the nationality of other states benefit from the same rights and obligations as the other citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

The Constitutional Court issued a note to Parliament, recommending removing the relevant shortcomings from the current legislation.

People’s ombudsman Mihail Cotorobai requested to determine the constitutionality of particular provisions of the Law on the Status of Service Members. According to the ombudsman, these restrictions limit the people’s right to dual nationality, in particular the service members’ rights to work and labor protection, free movement and education.