Introduction:
The applicants, descendants of an Italian-born ancestor , sought judicial recognition of citizenship after years of administrative inaction. The Court examined the genealogical documentation, procedural posture, and relevant jurisprudence, confirming their right to have their Italian status formally recognized.
Outcome:
The Court fully upheld the petition and declared all applicants Italian citizens from birth, ordering the Ministry of the Interior and the competent civil status office to complete all registrations, transcriptions and annotations. It also awarded legal costs to the petitioners, rejecting the Ministry’s request to offset them, stressing that administrative inefficiencies cannot burden those forced to seek judicial protection. The decision ensures immediate recognition and compels the authorities to act without delay.
Challenge:
The case was complicated by several factors: the Ministry contested the admissibility of the action; the applicants lacked confirmation that consular proceedings had even begun; and, as the Court acknowledged, consulates in the applicants’ country of residence are afflicted by delays ranging from 5 to 10 years, preventing any realistic administrative outcome. These systemic obstacles, combined with the Ministry’s defensive stance, made judicial intervention the only viable path to secure their citizenship rights.
Action:
The legal team reconstructed the full generational line through certified, translated and apostilled records, demonstrating uninterrupted descent from an Italian ancestor who had never renounced her citizenship. Counsel relied on the Supreme Court’s 2022 twin rulings to show that citizenship once acquired cannot be lost tacitly and may only be renounced explicitly. By highlighting these constitutional principles and the formal regularity of all documentation, the team successfully established the applicants’ status and overcame the Ministry’s objections.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.