![Attorney Marco Mellone during oral arguments at the Court of Cassation in Rome, at the United Sections hearing on the 'child issue' | Photo: Reproduction/[source of the video]](https://italianismo.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/marco-mellone-600x337.jpg)
![Attorney Marco Mellone during oral arguments at the Court of Cassation in Rome, at the United Sections hearing on the 'child issue' | Photo: Reproduction/[source of the video]](https://italianismo.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/marco-mellone.jpg)
The so-called "child issue," in the context of Italian citizenship, will return to... Italian Court of Cassation on October 7, 2026. The information was confirmed to Italianism by the lawyer Marco Mellone, who participated in the cases recently judged by the United Sections.
The hearing had been scheduled previously, but was postponed while the Court awaited the definition of the... United Sections Regarding the controversy. With the publication of the new rulings, the matter now returns to the Supreme Court.
The cases that will be analyzed also predate the Tajani Decree, but present a situation different from that resolved by rulings 24045/2026, 24184/2026 and 24185/2026.
According to Mellone, it involves minor children born in Italy whose parents have become naturalized foreigners.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed: citizenship is born with the person.
- New legal front opened
- Processes can still be filed.
- Individual assessment before any decision.
Who was left out of the decision?
The United Sections resolved this week an important part of the "child issue".
The Court established that a child born in a country of jus soli, who is Italian by descent and at the same time a citizen of the country where he or she was born, does not lose Italian citizenship due to the subsequent naturalization of the father or mother.
In the official summary of Sentenza 24045/2026, the Court of Cassation defines this minor as "bipolar by right since birth" and affirms that he retains Italian citizenship.
But the decision did not provide the same protection to the minor who only possessed Italian citizenship.
It is precisely at this point that Mellone believes the United Sections could have made progress.
"These rulings continue to unfairly harm minors born in Italy, or in countries that are not jus soli, who continue to lose their Italian citizenship involuntarily and solely because of their parent."
According to the lawyer, the battle will continue in the new lawsuits.
"I will continue the fight for these children," he stated.
What will be at stake in October?
The hearing on October 7th, therefore, will not directly discuss the Tajani Law or its retroactive application. The proceedings predate the 2025 reform.
The point will be different: the situation of minors who were not bipolar from birth and who were affected by their parents' naturalization.
The discussion is relevant because the United Sections themselves reaffirmed, in decisions published this week, that citizenship iure sanguinis is acquired originally at birth and that the status of citizen, once acquired, is permanent and imprescriptible.
And what about the cases that occurred after the Tajani Decree?
According to Mellone, there is no knowledge yet of a post-decree process that has reached the Court of Cassation.
When questioned by Italianismo, the lawyer described this possibility, at this moment, as "practically impossible," considering the time it takes for a case to go through the lower courts.
The Constitutional Court's decision changed the landscape. The new citizenship law will now be reviewed by the European Union's courts of justice.
He believes, however, that a first case directly involving the new legislation could reach the Supreme Court before the end of 2026.
Until then, the discussion about the Tajani Law continues mainly in the lower courts, the Constitutional Court, and now, the Court of Justice of the European Union.
UNDERSTAND | What the Cassation Committee decided this Wednesday
The United Sections have changed the guidance that had been adopted since 2023 and recognized that a minor who is already Italian by ius sanguinis and a citizen of another country by ius soli from birth retains Italian citizenship even after the naturalization of the parent.
The Court also reaffirmed, this Wednesday (29), a historical principle of its jurisprudence"Citizenship by birth is acquired originally iure sanguinis, and the status of citizen, once acquired, is permanent, imprescriptible, and can be judicially protected at any time."
![Attorney Marco Mellone during oral arguments at the Court of Cassation in Rome, at the United Sections hearing on the 'child issue' | Photo: Reproduction/[source of the video]](https://italianismo.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/marco-mellone-100x100.jpg)
