The Court of Appeals in Brescia, northern Italy, recognized the Italian citizenship of a Brazilian man adopted five days after his birth, overturning the lower court's ruling that had denied his request.
The decision rejected the argument put forward by the Ministry of the Interior and also contradicted the opinion of the Attorney General's Office, which had requested the rejection of the appeal.
The case is noteworthy because of the difference in treatment within the same family. A biological daughter of the Brazilian man's adoptive mother had already obtained Italian citizenship in the Comune of Casalmaggiore. However, the adopted son's request was denied by the same municipality.
"There was this discrimination between siblings, between the adopted son and the biological daughter," he stated. Italianism The lawyer Maria Stella La Malfa is responsible for the case.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed: citizenship is born with the person.
- New legal front opened
- Processes can still be filed.
- Individual assessment before any decision.
Mother died without requesting recognition.
The Brazilian's mother was the daughter of an Italian citizen born in Ceggia. in Veneto, who emigrated to Brazil and never became a naturalized citizen.
She died without ever having formally requested recognition of her Italian citizenship.
This fact was used against the adopted son. According to the lawyer, the administrative interpretation was that, in order to transmit citizenship through adoption, it would be necessary for the mother to have been previously recognized as Italian. The Court of Appeals rejected this understanding.
For the judges, the fact that the woman had never gone through the recognition procedure did not mean she wasn't Italian. Under the law applicable to the case, she was considered a citizen from birth by descent.
"Citizenship, whether by birth or adoption, does not require prior recognition," La Malfa stated.
The ruling establishes that the lack of formal recognition of the deceased mother's citizenship did not prevent its transmission to the adopted son. The Court added that, in a line of descent, it is not necessary for all ancestors to have applied for citizenship in order to transmit it.
The judges cited Article 5 of Law 123/1983, in force at the time of the adoption, which considered a minor child, including an adopted child, of an Italian father or mother to be an Italian citizen.
In practice, under that legal system, the recognition procedure did not create citizenship. It merely formally recognized an already existing status.
The municipality recognized its biological daughter.
The difference in treatment became even more evident because a biological daughter of the same woman had already obtained recognition of Italian citizenship in the Comune of Casalmaggiore.
The mother was the same. The difference lay in their parentage: one was a biological daughter, while the Brazilian had been adopted.
"Both of them, the biological son and the adopted son, are children of an Italian mother," La Malfa stated.
The Court also highlighted this point. Since the Brazilian was adopted in 1990, when he was still a newborn, the judges understood that he should receive the same legal treatment afforded to a biological child.
Adoption by public deed has become another obstacle.
The way adoptions were conducted in Brazil was also questioned during the process.
The Constitutional Court's decision changed the landscape. The new citizenship law will now be reviewed by the European Union's courts of justice.
The Brazilian was adopted in 1990 through a public deed before a notary, five days after his birth, with the consent of his biological mother, who was present at the act.
In the first instance, the Brescia Court The request was rejected on April 17, 2025. Among the reasons given, it was considered that an adoption resulting from a consensual act before a notary could not be recognized in Italy under the terms requested.
The court also raised doubts about the compatibility of the procedure with international public order and ordered the Brazilian to pay €3.777,80 in court costs.
The defense showed, however, that the procedure had not ended with the signing of the deed.
Subsequently, the adoption went through the Brazilian courts. The Public Prosecutor's Office issued a favorable opinion, and the judicial authority made the act enforceable, ordering the registration of the adoption.
“Even if the adoption was by public deed, since it was later ratified by a judge, it was valid,” La Malfa explained. The Court of Appeals agreed.
According to the ruling, the act was controlled, ratified, and enforced by the Brazilian judicial authority. The Court therefore considered it incorrect to treat it as a simple agreement between private parties and dismissed the claim of incompatibility with international public order.
In the end, the judges overturned the first instance decision, declared the Brazilian an Italian citizen, and ordered... interior Ministery and to the competent civil registry officer to carry out the procedures prescribed by law.
The Court also overturned the €3.777,80 fine imposed in the first trial and ordered the reimbursement of expenses from both instances, "due to the particular nature of the matter."
The decision was kept secret for almost a year.
The hearing at the Court of Appeals took place on September 30, 2025, in written form. After that, the case was reserved for a decision.
Days earlier, on September 23, the Attorney General's Office had issued an opinion recommending the rejection of the appeal. The Court ultimately decided otherwise.
According to Maria Stella La Malfa, the sentence was only made available this week, almost a year later. "It took a year to come out. It was marked as reserved," the lawyer stated.
