Constitutional Court Hearing Scheduled: Challenging the Retroactivity of Law 74/2025

The Constitutional Court has formally scheduled a hearing for 11 March 2026 to examine the questione di legittimità costituzionale raised by the Tribunale di Torino concerning Decreto Legge n. 36/2025 and its conversion Law n. 74/2025.

The referral focuses on the compatibility of this legislative intervention with the constitutional principles governing the temporal application of the law and legal certainty. In addition to the main party to the original case, several intervening parties have filed submissions, reflecting the broader systemic relevance of the issues submitted to the Court.

The Core Legal Question: Retroactivity vs. Acquired Rights

The core of the upcoming discussion will revolve around the retroactive effect expressly attributed by the decree and the conversion law to their substantive provisions.

The Turin Court has questioned whether the government and legislature, by imposing retroactive applicability on situations regarding a citizenship right acquired originally at birth, have infringed upon the general principle of reasonableness that governs legislative discretion, as well as specific Articles of the Constitution:

• Article 3: Equality before the law.

• Article 24: The right to defense.

• Article 25(2): Protection against retroactive punishment.

• Article 111: Due process of law.

  
  

Many scholars and practitioners share the view that this retroactivity clause exceeds constitutionally permissible limits. Specifically, it creates a "substantial revoking" of an already acquired inalienable right, thereby undermining legitimate expectations and impairing access to justice.

The State’s Defence

The Avvocatura dello Stato, representing the Government, is expected to contest these arguments and defend the constitutionality of the legislative framework.

Their position will likely rest on the premise that Parliament retains broad discretion in regulating citizenship matters—traditionally considered areas of sovereign prerogative—and may determine the temporal scope of relevant rules within reasonable bounds. The State’s defence is anticipated to emphasize the need for legislative uniformity and the purported "public-interest reasons" underlying the 2025 reform.

Direct Intervention Before the Court

This hearing provides the Constitutional Court with an opportunity to clarify, once again, the limits of legislative retroactivity. Given its potential to impact both current and future cases, the decision will be closely monitored by practitioners, scholars, and affected individuals.

I will be personally participating in the hearing as counsel for an intervening third party.

This role affords me the opportunity to argue in detail for the unconstitutionality of Decree-Law 36/2025 and Law 74/2025, with a particular focus on the retroactive effect introduced by the new provisions.

My objective is to advocate directly before the Constitutional Court for the protection of the rights of descendants of Italian immigrants, whose legitimate expectations and access to citizenship recognition are put at risk by the retroactive application of the law. I will present the constitutional, statutory, and jurisprudential grounds that support the need for strict scrutiny of these measures, highlighting the broader implications for legal certainty, equality, and the rule of law in this sensitive area.

Avvocato Alberto Lama, counsel for ViaMonde.eu