Pitcairn trial

[tamaranth]

"The men's lawyers had also argued that the Bounty mutineers, who settled on the island, stopped being British subjects when they burnt the ship in 1789." BBC News

This argument intrigues me, and reminds me of various arguments (throughout nautical literature but primarily, I suspect, from O'Brian) re a captain losing his authority when his ship is wrecked. (Does it count if you destroy the ship yourself?)

Any legal weight to this argument? Is severing one's nationality as simple, and symbolic, as this?

Comments

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

An interesting question. There's a lot of debate about how one can become a national of a country, but not very much about how you can give it up. I know the US doesn't liek people having dual citizenship very much, and generally expects applicants for citizenship to stop asserting their prior nationality. For example, I've heard of people losing their green card for voting at home.

However, I don't think the nationality of the islanders is particularly relevant. The more significant issue is wheter the island's claim of independance is valid. The burning of the Bounty may go some way as a symbolic act, but if there has been any case of the island requesting British help, this would probably negate this. Also, as the islanders were originally British, it can be assumed that British laws would apply, unless they have taken steps to enact contradictory laws.

[green-amber.livejournal.com]

I'm intrigued myself. No it's not really about voluntarily giving up nationality. The general rule was that when England set up colonies, the colonists took as much of English law with them as was practicable to the new environment - hence America got a stripped down version of English common law. But the Pitcairn settlers were arguable not colonists but rebels, escapees. So would not take English law with them but (I suppose) establish own new legal system from scratch. I think that's the argument. There is probably a counter argument (I suspect) that at some point the Pitcairners placed themselves under the protection of the Crown judging by the modern day set up..