tenses again

[Hanka]

Hello,

could you please tell me which tense is correct:

The court rendered a decision that he WAS a British citizen as of the day of his death.

OR

The court rendered a decision that he HAD BEEN a British citizen as of the day of his death.

Thank you very very much

Hanka

[Tdol]

I think you can use either. You could use the past perfect to show that the death came before the decision, but there's no great need to do so.