Introduction:
The applicants, represented by Aprigliano Law Firm, filed for judicial recognition of Italian citizenship iure sanguinis, tracing descent from an Italian-born ancestor who emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. The lineage included female descendants born before the Italian Constitution came into effect.
Outcome:
On April 5, 2024, the Court of Catanzaro declared the applicants Italian citizens and ordered the Ministry of the Interior to proceed with all necessary civil registry and consular notifications. Legal costs were fully offset.
Challenge:
The Ministry argued that the maternal line could not transmit citizenship due to pre-1948 restrictions. It also claimed the absence of formal declarations and procedural requirements. However, the Court dismissed these objections, citing landmark rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation, affirming that automatic loss of citizenship for women was unconstitutional.
Action:
The judge relied on decisions no. 87/1975, 30/1983, and SS.UU. 4466/2009, confirming that citizenship is permanent, imprescriptible, and may be judicially recognized at any time.
The petitioners provided complete and apostilled documentation showing uninterrupted descent. The Court also stated that delays at consulates do stop access to the courts.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.