Jure Sanguinis Update: Citizenship and Maternal Lines

A Recent Ruling Reaffirms the Importance of Established Principles in Italian Case Law, Despite the Latest Legislative Changes on Citizenship

Background: How ViaMonde Prepared the Client for Success

• The client engaged with ViaMonde on September 2024 for an eligibility study 

• ViaMonde determined eligibility in October 2024 

  • A 1948 case through 4 generations with a minor issue

• November 2024 the ViaMonde document team began researching, requesting, and preparing the documents for court

• The documents were completed by April 2025 

  • The court documents (Letter of Engagement and Special Limited Power of Attorney) were completed on April 10th 2025 

  • Translations were completed by end of April 2025 

• The case was filed on April 26th 2025

• The client and family achieved recognition on November 11th 2025

The Reasoning of the Judgment

Jure Sanguinis Update: A very recent judgment issued by the Tribunal on 11 November represents an additional piece in the complex framework of the recognition of Italian citizenship iure sanguinis, especially in cases where citizenship is transmitted through maternal lines prior to 1948. The Tribunal, asked to assess the genealogical continuity of applicants descended from an Italian ancestor who emigrated to the United States, granted the claim, holding that the principles developed by the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation since the 1970s—and in particular those established by the landmark judgment of the Joint Civil Divisions No. 4466/2009—remain fully applicable.

The core reasoning of the ruling retraces the evolution of Italian citizenship law, highlighting how

the original framework—characteristically patriarchal—was progressively dismantled by the

Constitutional Court. With judgments No. 87/1975 and No. 30/1983, the Court struck down two

discriminatory cornerstones: the automatic loss of citizenship for women who married foreign

nationals and the prohibition on maternal transmission. The Tribunal reiterates that, for maternal

lines predating 1948, the administrative route is unavailable and recognition may be obtained

exclusively through judicial proceedings, where the principle of status civitatis as a permanent and imprescriptible right of the individual is fully upheld.

Of particular interest is the section addressing the newly introduced Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992, incorporated by Decree-Law 36/2025 and converted—with amendments—into Law No. 74 of 23 May 2025. As is well known, it introduces a significant restriction on the acquisition of citizenship iure sanguinis for those born abroad. The Tribunal, however, finds the provision inapplicable to the case at hand, both for reasons of temporal enforceability and because maternal descent prior to 1948 falls squarely within the sphere of protection consolidated by higher court jurisprudence.

This judgment therefore reaffirms principles that will have considerable impact on pending

litigation, as it clarifies that the recent legislative reform does not negate rights already established and recognized by living law—particularly when such rights are supported by principles of proportionality and by the need to respect other fundamental principles of the Italian legal system, such as the full protection of family unity.

As counsel in the case, the decision provides reassuring confirmation: in matters involving pre-1948 maternal transmission, the Judiciary remains the primary guarantor of the principle of equality, filling a gap that the legislature—despite intervening in the spring 2025 reform—has not yet addressed comprehensively.

At the same time, the judgment sheds light on the limits of the new Article 3-bis, which cannot

operate retroactively to the point of restricting rights already affirmed and protected by constitutional and supreme court jurisprudence. The ruling is thus a balanced one, harmonizing formal legality with the necessary protection of fundamental rights.

A Winning Strategy

From a different perspective, the case confirms the strategic importance of an accurate and rigorous documentary reconstruction, enabling the genealogical line to be traced clearly and without uncertainty back to the Italian ancestor, thereby allowing the Court to verify that the latter did not lose Italian citizenship and was thus able to transmit it to her descendants.

The most reliable approach to bringing a citizenship case before the courts with a strong likelihood of success therefore begins with meticulous preparation of documentation, an in-depth analysis of all documentation combined with attentive listening to the client, in order to review in detail all factual and documentary elements that may serve as evidence at trial, in light of the applicable legal framework and the most up-to-date case law.

In this perspective, the winning strategy undoubtedly rests on two pillars:

1. The establishment and constant maintenance of clear, continuous, and transparent communication.

2. Competent, professional, and reliable support throughout the demanding process of gathering and organizing the necessary documentation.

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Avvocato Maria Marinello

About the Author

Avvocato Maria Marinello’s work on Italian citizenship by descent cases are done exclusively with ViaMonde.

Attorney Maria Marinello is a lawyer specializing in Administrative and International Law. In 2006 she graduated with top marks from the University of Palermo. After completing her legal traineeship in leading Administrative Law firms in Rome, Milan, and Palermo, she obtained a Master's degree in Diplomatic Studies in 2011 from the Italian Society for International Organization in Rome, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2016 she earned a Ph.D. in "Theory of the State and Political Institutions.”

Since 2010 she has headed her own law firm based in Palermo, with offices also in Rome, Milan, and Florence. The firm, supported by a broad network of professional collaborators throughout Italy, has for many years provided highly specialized judicial and extrajudicial legal services in the fields of Administrative and International Law.