The Turin Court has accepted a request questioning the constitutionality of the new Italian citizenship law. The measure was presented by AGIS. (Association of the Righteous Iure Sanguinis) together with AUCI (Avvocati Uniti per la Cittadinanza Italiana).
The request was accepted this Wednesday (25) and will be analyzed by the Constitutional Court of Italy. The action deals with the changes promoted by Law 74, which succeeded Decree-Law 36, known as “Tajani Decree"by imposing restrictions on the recognition of Italian citizenship by right of blood."
The issue was raised through a lawsuit filed after March 28, 2025, already under the new rule. The judge, given the arguments presented, chose not to reject the request, forwarding it to the Court for analysis of the possible constitutional violation.
“In the hearing notes, we asked the judge to raise the issue of the law’s unconstitutionality, since the lawsuit was filed after the decree was published. Given this, he would have two options: deny it, stating that the decree is valid, or refer it to the Constitutional Court,” explained lawyer Daniela Mariane, representing AUCI.
Result considered relevant by the associations
According to a note released by AGIS, the result is “of extraordinary importance” and was obtained in “very quick” time, reflecting the collaboration between the two legal entities. The association also thanked the lawyers who worked directly on the case for their “valuable scientific and strategic contribution”.
The process involved the participation of constitutional lawyers, hired by the entities involved to draft the legal report of the request, based on grounds that prevented the judge from denying the request.
With the referral of the action to the Constitutional Court, the original proceedings will be suspended. It is expected that other similar actions, filed after the new legislation, will also be suspended until the Court rules on the validity of the rule.
What does the decision say?
In the ruling, Judge Fabrizio Alessandria of the Turin Court decided to submit to the Constitutional Court the question raised by the parties regarding the validity of the new Law 74/2025. This law introduced Article 3-bis to Law No. 91/1992, restricting the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent to those who did not file their application by March 27, 2025.
The case involves applicants born in Venezuela, descendants of Italians, whose case was filed after the new legislation came into effect.
During the proceedings, the authors claimed that the new rule has retroactive effect and constitutes an “implicit revocation of citizenship” by affecting people who already had acquired rights. They also argued that the provision violates the constitutional principles of equality, legal certainty and protection of acquired rights, provided for in articles 2, 3 and 117 of the Italian Constitution.
The lawyers also pointed out the rule's incompatibility with international treaties signed by Italy, such as:
– Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union
– Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
– Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– Article 3 of the Fourth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights
Upon examining these grounds, the judge declared that “the question of the constitutionality of Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992 is not manifestly unfounded” when applied to those born abroad before the new rule came into force. He therefore ordered the suspension of the proceedings and the referral of the case to the Constitutional Court, which will decide on the validity of the legislation.
Updated at 19:02 p.m., 25.06.2025/XNUMX/XNUMX
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