Italian Citizenship: The Supreme Court Reviews the Rule on Minors
The Supreme Court of Cassation may once again rule on the issue of Italian citizenship ius sanguinis, with potential implications for the controversial Law No. 74/2025. The First Civil Section has referred to the Court’s Presidency the question of the automatic loss of citizenship for minor children of emigrants, as provided for in Article 12 of the historic Law No. 555/1912.
The case concerns descendants of Italians who emigrated to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, who were denied citizenship by the courts, believing that the naturalization of the parent entailed loss for the minor children as well, despite the fact that they were already citizens of the country of their birth.
According to the Supreme Court judges, however, the term "acquire" in the rule cannot be interpreted as "possess from birth." Such a reading opens up a contrast with hitherto dominant case law and could affect millions of descendants of Italian emigrants in America and South America.
Over time, even the Ministry of the Interior had recognized in several circulars (including K.28.1 of 1991 and No. 9 of 2011) the validity of dual citizenship by birth, excluding the application of Article 12 in similar cases.
If the Supreme Court Presidency upholds the referral, the decision will go to the United Sections, which could rule as early as 2025. Their rulings, which have been decisive in the past (such as in 2009 on maternal citizenship and in 2022 on "grand naturalization"), guide all national jurisprudence and could also lead to a revision of the most recent ministerial circulars.
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