Should citizenship law interpretations be broad for fundamental liberties?

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Broad Interpretations of Citizenship Law Are Necessary for Fundamental Liberties

A lawyer has argued before the Court of Appeal that the term "new born child" within the Federal Constitution should be interpreted broadly to include a one-year-old infant, thereby ensuring automatic Malaysian citizenship and preventing statelessness for abandoned children. This argument stems from the case of a 29-year-old woman found abandoned at approximately one year of age, whose application for citizenship was denied by the High Court on the grounds that she was not a "new born" at the time of her discovery. The core of the legal debate centres on whether constitutional provisions, particularly those concerning fundamental liberties, should be interpreted narrowly based on strict medical definitions or more expansively to uphold the spirit of protection against statelessness.
Protection Against Statelessness Through Interpretation

The legal argument presented emphasizes Section 19B of Part III of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which offers protection to abandoned "new born children" by presuming they were born to a permanent resident mother in Malaysia. This presumption facilitates automatic citizenship for children born within the country if they meet the condition of having at least one parent who is a Malaysian citizen or permanent resident. The lawyer contends that a narrow interpretation of "new born," potentially limited to the first 28 days of life as per medical definitions, unfairly excludes children like his client, who, despite being found abandoned at a slightly older age, are equally vulnerable to statelessness and lack knowledge of their biological origins.
UNHCR Guidelines Support Broader Application

In support of a more inclusive interpretation, reference was made to the UNHCR's Guidelines on Statelessness 2012. These guidelines suggest that safeguards for children at risk of statelessness, particularly those born in the country, should extend to all young children who are not yet capable of providing accurate information about their parents' identity or birthplace. For a one-year-old abandoned child, the capacity to recall or communicate such details is realistically absent. This aligns with the argument that the constitutional protection should apply based on the child's vulnerability and inability to provide biographical information, rather than a rigid age cutoff that could lead to unjust outcomes.
Government's Stance on Strict Definition

Conversely, the government's representative argued for a strict adherence to the medical definition of "new born," limiting its application to the first 28 days of a child's life. The federal counsel suggested that extending this definition to a one-year-old would be an unwarranted "stretching" of the constitutional text. This position highlights a tension between a literal, precise legal reading and a more purposive interpretation aimed at achieving substantive justice and preventing the severe consequence of statelessness, especially when fundamental rights are at stake. The Court of Appeal is currently deliberating on these contrasting interpretations.

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Should citizenship law interpretations be broad for fundamental liberties?

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