The issue has been referred to the Constitutional Court in order to assess whether it is possible to provide a generation limit given that Italian Citizenship by descent is currently recognized to individuals who, while being descendants of Italian citizens, have never lived in Italy, have no intention of relocating there, and, in many cases, have never even visited the country.
The case in question involves 12 Brazilian citizens seeking Italian citizenship iure sanguinis through a female ancestor born in Marzabotto in 1876 who later emigrated to Brazil. This is because, prior to the entry in force of the Italian Constitution, women were not permitted to pass citizenship to their children. While this restriction has since been abolished, judicial proceedings remain necessary for such claims, as they cannot be submitted through the administrative path (Italian Consulates or Town Halls).
The Constitutional Court must now decide whether the absence of generational limits in the current framework is constitutionally legitimate. If the Court shares the same position raised by the local judge and therefore declares the constitutional illegitimacy of the art. 1 Law 91/1992, also a legislative intervention may be requested, according to the characters of the judicial pronunciation, in order to fix specific generational limits.
Meanwhile, the large amount of requests presented for the recognition of the Italian citizenship in Court continues to generate a significant number of legal cases, further clogging the judicial system.
Contact our Citizenship Department for further information: citizenship@mazzeschi.it
This article was written by Giuditta De Ricco and Greis Muca.
This article is posted by Mazzeschi Web Content Manager. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@mazzeschi.it. Follow us on social media @StudioMazzeschi to receive the latest updates.
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