Update - Italian Supreme Court Refers the “Minor Issue” to the United Sections: A Turning Point in Citizenship Law

As part of our continued updates on the “minor issue” in Italian citizenship law, we are pleased to announce a significant development that could reshape the legal landscape for applicants born abroad to Italian parents who naturalized in a foreign country while the applicant was still a minor and born abroad.

Background: Oral Hearing Before the Supreme Court

On April 1, 2025, I had the honor of presenting oral arguments before the First Civil Division of the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) in Case No. RG 11785/2024, which addressed the so-called minor issue. This legal challenge questions the automatic loss of Italian citizenship by minors following the voluntary naturalization of their parent, as governed by Law No. 555/1912.

Notably, the Advocate General of the Supreme Court, representing the public interest, formally requested that the petition be granted. The Advocate General’s opinion strongly supported our legal interpretation, underlining constitutional and systemic concerns with the current approach to loss of citizenship in these cases.

The Turning Point: Referral to the United Sections

On July 18, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a landmark order: the minor issue has now been referred to the United Sections (Sezioni Unite) of the Corte di Cassazione.

This decision reflects the recognition that conflicting interpretations have emerged among individual divisions of the Court regarding the correct application of Law No. 555/1912, particularly Articles 7 and 12. Given the legal uncertainty and broad implications for thousands of applicants worldwide, the Court concluded that the matter must be resolved definitively by its highest interpretative body.

This referral should be seen as a positive sign: had the Court intended to confirm the most recent interpretation—the one that created the so-called minor issue—it could have simply followed that precedent. Instead, by referring the matter to the United Sections, the Court has opened the door to a possible reversal and definitive clarification.

Legal Questions Submitted to the United Sections

The Court posed the following critical questions of exceptional importance:

1. Dual Citizenship Preservation for Minors
   Whether, under Law No. 555/1912, a child born abroad to an Italian parent—who thereby acquires dual citizenship iure sanguinis and iure soli—retains Italian citizenship by default under Article 7, unless they voluntarily renounce it upon reaching adulthood, except in cases where the father, while the child was a minor and cohabiting with him, voluntarily lost Italian citizenship by naturalization. In such cases, under Article 12(2), the father's decision would legally extend to the minor child due to the paternal authority (patria potestas) regime in force at the time.

2. Interpretative Supremacy of Article 7 vs. Article 12
   Or, conversely, whether Article 12(2) of the 1912 law should be seen as a general rule applying to all minors whose parent loses Italian citizenship and acquires another nationality. In this view, only those minors born with dual citizenship from birth might fall under the special regime of Article 7, thereby not automatically losing Italian citizenship due to the parent’s naturalization abroad during their minority.

This referral signals the Supreme Court’s intent to bring coherence and legal certainty to a field that has seen divergent judicial outcomes. A ruling from the United Sections will carry binding authority and guide all future decisions on this matter.

What's Next?

We are awaiting the scheduling of the United Sections hearing. In the meantime, our team is preparing further submissions to ensure the Court also addresses how this issue intersects with “1948 cases”—those involving maternal lineage before January 1, 1948—which remain an area of open debate and may be formally raised in the upcoming wave of petitions.

For questions about how this development may impact your Italian citizenship claim—or if you were denied recognition in the past due to your parent’s naturalization while you were a minor—please contact us at cocoruggerilawassociated.com or email info@cocoruggerilawassociated.com.

We are committed to defending your right to Italian citizenship with clarity, expertise, and determination.