Introduction:
The case concerned several descendants seeking recognition of Italian citizenship through an Italian-born female ancestor. The petitioners reconstructed the genealogical chain through successive generations and asked the Court to recognize their status as Italian citizens jure sanguinis. The petition was filed on 20 February 2025, meaning that the case preceded the changes introduced by Decree-Law No. 36/2025. The Ministry of the Interior, although duly summoned, did not appear in the proceedings.
Outcome:
The Court granted the petition in full and declared the applicants Italian citizens. It ordered the Ministry of the Interior and the competent Civil Status Registrar to carry out all registrations, transcriptions and annotations required by law, together with the necessary communications to the competent consular authorities. Notably, the Court also ordered the Ministry of the Interior to reimburse the applicants’ legal costs, rejecting the idea that the administrative workload could justify placing the financial consequences of the proceedings on the successful applicants.
Challenge:
A central issue concerned the applicants’ standing to bring judicial proceedings. The Court explained that judicial recognition of citizenship normally presupposes an actual dispute or an objective situation of uncertainty. However, in pre-1948 maternal-line cases, descendants remain effectively prevented from obtaining administrative recognition because the Administration continues to apply its established interpretation under Ministerial Circular No. K28.1/1991, according to which maternal transmission is administratively recognized only for descendants born after 1 January 1948. For this reason, the Court found that the applicants had full standing to seek judicial protection. On the merits, the judgment recalled Constitutional Court Judgments No. 87/1975 and No. 30/1983, together with Supreme Court Joint Sections Judgment No. 4466/2009, confirming that the discriminatory effects of the former citizenship legislation must cease from the entry into force of the Constitution. Citizenship that was lost or could not be acquired solely because of discriminatory rules must therefore be regarded as restored, provided there was no express renunciation.
Action:
After examining the documentary evidence, the Court found that the applicants had established both their descent from the Italian-born female ancestor and the continuity of the citizenship line. No fact capable of extinguishing or interrupting the claimed citizenship status had been alleged or proven.The Court reiterated that citizenship jure sanguinis is permanent and imprescriptible. Applicants are required to prove the original acquisition of citizenship and the line of transmission, while the burden of establishing any interrupting circumstance rests on the opposing party. Importantly, the Court also recalled that loss of Italian citizenship under the historical legislation must be interpreted restrictively. A foreign naturalization capable of interrupting the citizenship line requires evidence of a spontaneous and voluntary act aimed at acquiring foreign citizenship. Residence abroad, permanent settlement abroad or failure to oppose a general naturalization measure are not, by themselves, sufficient to establish the voluntary loss of Italian citizenship.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.