NATIONALITYUnmarried father - secretary of state in exercise of statutory discretion refusing son United Kingdom citizenship - not contravening rights under common law or European Convention on Human RightsR v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Montana: CA (Schiemann and Tuckey LJJ and Sir Swinton Thomas): 23 November 2000A British unmarried father applied to register his son, who was living with his Norwegian mother in Norway, as a United Kingdom citizen and to include his son's name on his passport was refused by the secretary of state.

The father sought judicial review, contending that the British Nationality Act 1981 was discriminatory contravening common law principles and arts 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights in that it failed to respect family life since the Act, by s.2(1), conferred United Kingdom citizenship at birth automatically on a child of a married British parent or of an unmarried British mother, while leaving a statutory discretion to the Home Secretary, under s.3(1), to refuse the child of an unmarried British father's United Kingdom citizenship.

The judge refused the application.

The father appealed.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC and Dinah Rose (instructed by Paul Simon) for the applicant.

Robin Tam (instructed by the treasury solicitor) for the secretary of state.Held, dismissing the appeal, that the secretary of state's exercise of statutory discretion to refuse such an application did not constitute a failure to respect family life or the right of a father and child, nor did it contravene common law principles or the convention, since the secretary of state was exercising the power given to him by Parliament under the British Nationality Act 1981, which remained unchanged by the passing of the Family Law Reform Act 1987 (giving equal rights to illegitimate parents) and the Children Act 1989 (giving equal parental responsibility of illegitimate children).