A Supreme Court of CassationThe Italian Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, held a hearing in Rome on Tuesday (14) to define the interpretation of the 1912 law that establishes who is considered an Italian citizen by birth. The decision, which could directly impact current rules, is expected to be released within two months.
The trial takes place following the recent hearing at the Constitutional Court, sentence not yet published, which is evaluating the Tajani Decree, responsible for restricting the transmission of Italian citizenship and reigniting the debate among Italian descendants.
The central point discussed was the situation of minors with dual status. They are Italian citizens by the right of blood and foreigners by jus soliThe Court is assessing whether these minors lose their Italian citizenship if their father or mother becomes naturalized in another country while they are minors.
According to the president of APEC (Association for Italo-European Cooperation)Massimiliano Albanese highlighted the difference between the legal provisions analyzed. "Article 7 applies to those born abroad with another citizenship, while Article 12 applies to minors who do not possess that citizenship and acquire it later," he explained.
According to this interpretation, Article 7 applies to those born abroad with another citizenship. Article 12, on the other hand, deals with minors who do not possess foreign citizenship and acquire it later.
In practice, this means that a child born in Italy and taken to another country as a young child could lose their Italian citizenship if the father became a naturalized citizen. However, a child born abroad to an Italian father would retain their citizenship, as they would have had another nationality from birth.
Lawyers present at the hearing reinforced this interpretation and presented technical arguments about the application of the rule over time.
Another relevant point was the position of the Attorney General's Office, which showed itself to be aligned with the arguments of the appellants, which was considered a positive sign by those involved.
Next Steps
The issue will also be analyzed by the Constitutional Court. Three lawsuits, originating in the courts of Campobasso and Mantua, question the validity of the law that restricted citizenship, known as the Tajani Decree.
The main argument is that the change could not have been made by decree-law, due to a lack of urgency. This point will be central to the trial scheduled for June 9th.
According to legal experts, this may be one of the last opportunities, in the short term, to define the current rules for Italian citizenship by descent.
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