Report on Citizenship Law: Cambodia

Abstract

Cambodia inherited the nation-state idea from colonial times and has since struggled to adapt it to the realities of a culturally and ethnically diverse country. Almost two decades of war and genocide have left visible scars on its people and state structures. The state had to start almost from scratch when it developed a new citizenship regime during the 1990s. The current regime is characterised by a relatively well-developed legal framework – allowing both for ius sanguinis and ius soli provisions of conferral of citizenship, as well as naturalisation – behind which is hidden an often-different reality of implementation and practice. Laws on citizenship and other relevant regulations are ..