The Federal Government's plan to strip dual-national terror suspects of their citizenship regardless of whether they have a criminal conviction could be subject to a High Court challenge.
That's the warning from constitutional law experts who have arrived in Canberra to offer advice to a Parliamentary Committee examining the government’s Allegiance to Australia legislation.
"The procedures for losing citizenship and subsequent administrative action do not provide sufficient safeguards to accord with the rule of law. The presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and the right of appeal," said President of the Law Council of Australia, Duncan McConnel.
Legislation has already been introduced into the House of Representatives, but now faces a review by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
It's being chaired by Victorian Liberal MP Dan Tehan.
"We want people to come and present their views on the bill. People will come at this from various directions so as a committee we'll be keen to hear what they've got to say and then obviously if there are points that we want to follow through. Then members will be asking questions and hunting for details," Mr Tehan said.
The original proposal earlier in the year would have given the Immigration Minister the power to strip citizenship from Australians even if they weren't citizens of any other country.
But that would have rendered them stateless, so it was rejected by cabinet after the plan was leaked.
"We're looking at purely a dual-citizen so not making or considering rendering anyone stateless and also whether it should be applied retrospectively or not," Mr Tehan said.
Constitutional lawyer Professor George Williams advised the committee against the bill being passed in its current form.
He told ABC radio that it breaches the separation of judicial power provided under the Australian Constitution.
"I think the bill has been poorly drafted, and I also think there is a real, indeed a likelihood that the High Court would strike down the bill if it is passed in this form. It has set up a self-excuting mechanism whereby effectively Parliament is the one that does the stripping of the citizenship. There is still no decision by a court involved," Prof Williams said.
The stripping of citizenship would happen to terror suspects here or abroad whether they have a conviction or not.
The Leader of the Australian Greens, Richard Di Natale is scathing of the legislation.
"What we have seen today is an almost unanimous rejection of the government's citizenship laws. They've been rejected not because there are unworkable but because the Australian community do not want a minister at a whim to decide whether you are able to be a citizen of this country," Mr Di Natale said.
In June, a petition by two-thirds of the Coalition backbench urged the Prime Minister to strengthen the laws.
Led by Dan Tehan, it called for the laws to be applied to Australians eligible for the citizenship of another country and that’s a proposal which is being examined.
"The government has a separate process taking place there. Phillip Ruddock, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, are examining that so obviously we'll have to wait and see what they come back with," Mr Tehan said.
The Allegiance to Australia bill on dual-nationals is an amendment to the Citizenship Act and has 'in principle' support from Labor with the government wanting it passed early next month.
