The Court of Campobasso has joined the Courts of Mantua and Turin in challenging the constitutionality of Italy’s new citizenship law (Law 74/2025)
The case involves Brazilian citizens seeking recognition of citizenship through an ancestor born in Campobasso in the late 19th century who emigrated to Brazil without acquiring any foreign citizenship.
The Ministry of the Interior argued that the applicants were not eligible under the new legal framework and the Court, while acknowledging that the claim was without legal ground under the new legislation, recognized that the retroactive application of the law could violate constitutional principles, since citizenship exists from birth and judicial recognition should only certifies this pre-existing status.
On this basis, the Court of Campobasso did not dismiss the legal proceedings but instead suspended it and referred the question to the Constitutional Court, which is called to rule on the legitimacy of the new citizenship law on 11 March 2026.
To stay updated, please feel free to contact our Citizenship Team.
For further information about this topic please check out the following articles:
- Is the New Citizenship Law in Violation of the Constitution? Judge in Turin Refers the Issue to the Constitutional Court
- News on Italian Citizenship: the Court of Mantua Refers the New Law to the Constitutional Court
- Constitutional Court Sets Hearing for March 11, 2026, on the Legitimacy of the New Citizenship Law
This article was written by Giuditta De Ricco and Ginevra Gaggelli.
