Introduction:
The applicants sought judicial recognition of Italian citizenship as descendants of an Italian-born ancestor who emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. Despite submitting a request to the competent Italian Consulate, no administrative procedure was ever initiated, making judicial proceedings necessary to obtain recognition.
Outcome:
The Court upheld the claim in full and declared all applicants Italian citizens, ordering the Ministry of the Interior and the competent Civil Status Officer to complete all registrations, transcriptions, and annotations in the civil status registers, as well as the required communications to consular authorities. Legal costs were fully offset between the parties.
Challenge:
The case involved a large family group spanning several generations, including descendants born out of wedlock and minor children. The Court clarified that these circumstances are legally irrelevant, given the full equivalence between children born in and out of marriage. Additionally, the applicants faced a complete lack of response from the consular authorities, reflecting the well-known structural delays affecting citizenship applications worldwide.
Action:
The legal team reconstructed the entire genealogical line through certified, translated, and apostilled records, proving uninterrupted paternal descent from an Italian citizen who had never naturalized abroad. Relying on Article 1 of Law no. 91/1992 and consolidated case law, counsel demonstrated that citizenship was validly transmitted to all descendants. The Court accepted the evidence, declared the Ministry in default, and ordered full implementation of the recognition.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.