Introduction:
In a recent judgment, the Court of Naples examined a petition filed by several U.S. citizens seeking recognition of Italian citizenship by descent from an Italian ancestor born in the Municipality of Casalnuovo di Napoli in 1904 who later emigrated to the United States. The applicants demonstrated their genealogical line through multiple generations, supported by civil registry documentation. The proceedings were brought against the Ministry of the Interior, which did not appear, while the Public Prosecutor issued a favorable opinion for the granting of the application.
Outcome:
The Court upheld the claim and declared that the applicants are Italian citizens jure sanguinis. It ordered the Ministry of the Interior to proceed, through the competent Civil Status Registrar, with the necessary registrations, transcriptions, and annotations in the civil status registers and to notify the relevant consular authorities. Litigation costs were fully offset between the parties.
Challenge:
The case involved the application of historical legislation that limited the transmission of citizenship primarily to the paternal line under Law No. 555 of 1912. The Court addressed the constitutional evolution of this framework, recognizing that such gender-based limitations have been removed by Constitutional Court and Court of Cassation rulings, which allow citizenship to be transmitted equally through the maternal line, including for descendants born before 1 January 1948.
Action:
Through civil registry records and genealogical documentation, the applicants demonstrated direct descent from the Italian ancestor who had never lost Italian citizenship. On this basis, and in light of consolidated case law recognizing retroactive effects of constitutional principles, the Court confirmed that Italian citizenship had been validly transmitted to the applicants from birth and granted judicial recognition of their status.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.