nationality. I am not familiar with all aspects of international law and I am therefore not in a position to affirm or disaffirm this proposition. But, be as it may, a law can be made by a State providing for expulsion of a national. It may conflict with a principle of international law, but that would not invalidate the domestic law. The principle of international law would not afford protection to the person concerned against domestic law. The only protection such a person would have is under article 12, paragraph 4. We should not read article 12, paragraph 4, in a manner which would leave a national unprotected against expulsion under domestic law. In fact, there are countries where there is domestic law providing for expulsion even of nationals and article 12, paragraph 4, properly read, provides protection against arbitrary expulsion of a national. The same reasoning would apply also in a case where a non-national is involved. Article 12, paragraph 4, must therefore be read as covering expulsion or deportation. There are two observations I would like to make in connection with this view of the majority. The majority view argues that article 12, paragraph 4, and 13 are mutually exclusive. It is observed by the majority in the view of the Committee that “'his own country' as a concept applies to individuals who are nationals and to certain categories of individuals who, while not nationals in a formal sense, are also not 'aliens' within the meaning of article 13, though they may be considered as aliens for other purposes”. Thus, according to the majority view, an individual falling within article 12, paragraph 4, would not be an “alien” within the meaning of article 13. I too subscribe to the same view. But there my agreement with the view of the majority ends. The question is: who is protected by article 12, paragraph 4? Who falls within its protective wing? I may again repeat, in agreement with the majority view, that article 12, paragraph 4, embraces, at the very least, an individual who, because of his special ties to or claims in relation to a given country cannot there be considered to be an alien. This is a correct test but I fail to understand why its application should be limited to the three kinds of cases referred to by the majority. These three kinds of cases would certainly be covered by this test but there may be many more which would also answer this test. I do not see any valid reason why they should be excluded except a predetermination by the majority that they should not be regarded as fulfilling this test, because that would affect the immigration policies of the developed countries. Take for example, a large number of Africans or Latin Americans or Indians who are settled in U.K., but who have not acquired U.K. citizenship. Their children, born and brought up in U.K. would not have even visited their country of nationality. If you ask them: “which is your own country?”, they would unhesitatingly say: “U.K.”. Can you say that only India or some country in Africa of Latin America which they have never visited and with which they have no links at all is the only country which they can call their own country? I agree that mere length of residence would not be a determinative test but length of residence may be a factor coupled with other factors. The totality of factors would have to be taken into account for the purpose of determining whether the country in question is a country which the person concerned has adopted as his own country or is a country with which he has special ties or the most intimate connection or link in order to be regarded as “his own country” within the meaning of article 12, paragraph 4. Moreover, it is obvious that if a person has a right to enter his own country and he/she cannot be arbitrarily prevented from entering his/her own country, but he/she can be arbitrarily expelled, it would make non-sense of article 12, paragraph 4. Suppose a person is expelled from his own country arbitrarily because he/she has no protection under article 12, paragraph 4, and immediately after expulsion, he/she seeks to enter the country. Obviously he/she cannot be prevented because article 12, paragraph 4, protects his/her entry. Then what is the sense of expelling him? We must therefore read article 12, paragraph 4, as embodying, by necessary implication, protection against arbitrary expulsion from one's own country. That takes me to the second issue. What is the scope and ambit of “his own country”? There is a general acceptance that “his own country” cannot be equated with “country of nationality” and I will not therefore spend any time on it. It is obvious that the expression “his own country” is wider than “country of nationality” and that is conceded by the majority view. “His own country” includes “country of nationality and something more”. What is that “something more”? The majority view accepts that the concept “his own country” embraces, at the very least, “an individual who, because of his special ties to or claims in relation to a given country cannot there be considered to be a mere alien”. I am in full agreement with this view. But then, the majority proceeds to delimit this concept by confining it to the following three illustrative cases: Before I part with the discussion of this point, I must refer to one other illogicality in which the majority appears to have fallen. The majority seems to suggest that where the country of immigration places unreasonable impediments on the acquiring of nationality by a new immigrant, it might be possible to say that for the new immigrant who has not acquired the nationality of the country of immigration and continues to retain the nationality of his country of origin, the country of immigration may be regarded as “his own country”. There are at least two objections against the validity of this view. In the first place, it is the sovereign right of a State to determine under what conditions it will grant nationality to a non-national. It is not for the Committee to pass judgment whether the conditions are reasonable or not and whether the conditions are such as to impose unreasonable impediments on the acquisition of nationality by a new immigrant nor is the Committee competent to enquire (1) where nationals of a country have been stripped of their nationality in violation of international law, (2) where the country of nationality of individuals has been incorporated into or transferred to another national entity whose nationality is being denied to them and (3) stateless persons arbitrarily deprived of their right to acquire the nationality of the country of their residence. It is the view of the majority that “while these individuals may not be nationals in the formal sense, neither are they aliens within the meaning of article 13” and they fall within article 12, paragraph 4. 61