Introduction:
The applicants sought judicial recognition of Italian citizenship as direct descendants of an Italian woman born in Italy at the end of the 19th century. The application was filed before the entry into force of Decree-Law no. 36/2025, and the Court therefore applied the prior legal framework, examining jurisdiction, lineage, and applicable jurisprudence.
Outcome:
The Court upheld the claim and declared the applicants Italian citizens iure sanguinis, ordering the Ministry of the Interior and the competent Civil Status Officer to complete all registrations, transcriptions, and annotations, as well as the necessary communications to consular authorities. Legal costs were offset due to the novelty and complexity of the legal issues addressed.
Challenge:
The case addressed two key issues: the impact of pre-1948 discrimination against maternal transmission of citizenship and the practical impossibility of timely administrative recognition due to prolonged consular delays exceeding statutory time limits. The Court confirmed that such delays amount to a constructive denial of rights, justifying judicial intervention.
Action:
The legal team proved uninterrupted descent through certified, translated, and apostilled records, demonstrating that the Italian ancestor retained citizenship and validly transmitted it to her descendants. Relying on Constitutional Court rulings and the Supreme Court’s 2009 and 2022 Joint Sections decisions, counsel established that citizenship by descent is a permanent personal status, lost only by express renunciation. The Court accepted the evidence and ordered full implementation.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.