Historic United Sections Hearing Set for January 13, 2026: What’s at Stake for Italian Citizenship by Descent

By Avv. Michele Vitale

The President of Italy’s Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) has just scheduled what may be the most consequential hearing on Italian citizenship law in years.​

On January 13, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the Aula Magna of the Supreme Court in Rome, the United Sections (Sezioni Unite) will hear cases No. 18354/2024 and No. 18357/2024, which involve fundamental questions about citizenship transmission and the controversial retroactive application of recent legislative changes.​​

Why This Matters

The United Sections represent the highest interpretive authority within the Italian judicial system. Their decisions are practically binding on all Italian courts and significantly influence administrative authorities and even Parliament itself. This is only the second time in recent history that the United Sections have intervened in citizenship by descent matters – the last time was in 2022 with the Brazilian mass naturalization cases.​​

The Two Critical Questions

The Court will address two interconnected issues that could reshape Italian citizenship law:

1. The Retroactivity Question (ratione personae and ratione temporis)

Will the new Decree No. 36/2025 (converted into Law No. 74/2025) apply retroactively to cases filed before March 28th, 2025, and to citizens already born? This addresses whether the government can retroactively strip or deny recognition of citizenship status that was already established under previous legal frameworks.​​

The distinction between ratione temporis (application in time) and ratione personae (application to categories of persons) is crucial here. The Court could determine not just whether the law can reach backward in time, but more fundamentally, whether it can categorically exclude entire classes of people who had already acquired citizenship rights.​​

2. The Involuntary Loss of Citizenship for Minor Children

Can minor children lose Italian citizenship involuntarily when a parent naturalizes in another country? Specifically, the Court will examine whether Article 12.2 of Law No. 555/1912 constitutionally permits automatic loss of citizenship for minors – especially those who held dual citizenship from birth – due to their parent’s naturalization.​​

This question is particularly significant for descendants of Italian emigrants to the United States, where the vast majority of adult Italian males naturalized while their children were still minors. Supreme Courts decisions have recently started denying citizenship in these cases, but recent jurisprudence suggests that the same Supreme Court may be ready to reverse this recent negative interpretation.​​

The Principle of Volition

At the heart of both questions lies a fundamental principle: citizenship cannot be lost without the individual’s will. A minor child cannot lose citizenship due to a parent’s decision, and an adult citizen cannot have their status revoked for circumstances beyond their control – such as when or where they were born, or who their ancestors were.​

The current decree creates categorical distinctions between different “classes” of citizens with differentiated rights, which may violate constitutional principles of equality and the immutable nature of citizenship acquired by descent.​

Strategic Importance Beyond This Case

Legal experts emphasize that obtaining a binding principle from the United Sections is more powerful than even a Constitutional Court ruling on this specific decree. Why? Because while the Constitutional Court can strike down one unconstitutional law, it cannot prevent future governments from attempting similar measures.​

A principle established by the United Sections, however, provides judges with interpretive guidance for evaluating not only the current decree but any future legislative attempts to retroactively limit citizenship rights. As one attorney noted during a recent conference: “Just as there was one decree-law, nothing prevents a second decree-law” – making this precedent essential protection.​

What Happens Next

The cases were referred to the United Sections following interlocutory orders issued ny the Corte di Cassazione in July this year, which recognized the “maximum importance” of these questions. The proceedings had been initiated well before the May 2025 law came into effect, involving families of Italian emigrants to the United States whose citizenship claims were denied by lower courts based on the parent’s naturalization.​​

The United Sections’ decision will likely establish binding precedent for thousands of pending cases throughout Italy’s court system.​​