Constitutional Court Rules on D.L. 36/2025: What It Means and Why It Is Far From Over
On March 12, 2026, Italy’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling on the Turin challenge to D.L. 36/2025. Headlines treated it as a final verdict. The reality is far more complex: the full judgment hasn’t been published, broader challenges from Campobasso and Mantova remain pending, and the Court of Cassation hearing on April 14 may be even more consequential.
April 14, 2026: The Sezioni Unite Hearing That Could Reshape Italian Citizenship Law
On April 14, 2026, the Joint Sections of Italy’s Court of Cassation will rule on retroactivity of D.L. 36/2025 and the minor issue that affects 60-70% of Italian-American families. A Sezioni Unite ruling binds every court in Italy. Here’s what’s at stake.
The Mantova Referral: Ten Constitutional Articles and the Broadest Challenge to D.L. 36/2025
The Tribunal of Mantova has filed the broadest constitutional challenge to Italy’s citizenship reform, invoking ten articles of the Constitution. Among them: the government imposed a deadline that expired before anyone knew it existed. Hearing confirmed June 9, 2026.
The Campobasso Referral: Article 22 and the Prohibition on Citizenship Deprivation for Political Reasons
On February 5, 2026, the Tribunal of Campobasso filed a constitutional challenge to D.L. 36/2025 invoking Article 22, the prohibition on deprivation of citizenship for political reasons. Even after the Court ruled on the Turin case, Campobasso filed additional referrals.
Sentenza 142/2025: The Ruling That Became the Strongest Weapon for Citizenship Rights
On July 31, 2025, the Constitutional Court rejected challenges to unlimited ius sanguinis but affirmed citizenship as permanent, imprescriptible, and acquired at original title. Four months after D.L. 36/2025, the Court’s own language became the most powerful argument against the reform.
The Turin Referral: The First Direct Constitutional Challenge to D.L. 36/2025
On June 25, 2025, Judge Alessandria of the Tribunal of Turin filed the first constitutional challenge to D.L. 36/2025 itself, proposing a surgical fix: keep the prospective generational limit but strike the retroactive mechanism. The Constitutional Court ruled on March 12, 2026, but the full reasoning has not been published.
The Failed Referendum: How Italy Voted Down Easier Citizenship, and What It Means
In June 2025, Italy held a referendum on easing naturalization requirements. 65% voted yes, but only 30% turned out, killing the proposal. Meloni’s coalition openly campaigned for abstention. Here’s what happened and what it means for the broader citizenship landscape.
Law 74/2025: What Parliament Added When It Made the Citizenship Reform Permanent
On May 23, 2025, Italy converted D.L. 36/2025 into permanent law. The conversion added provisions for minors and a limited reacquisition window for former citizens, but left the core two-generation limit and retroactive mechanism intact.
D.L. 36/2025: The Tajani Decree That Changed Italian Citizenship Overnight
On March 28, 2025, Italy issued Decree-Law 36/2025, imposing a two-generation limit on citizenship by descent and retroactively declaring millions of people to have never been Italian citizens. Here’s what the decree says, how it works, and why it’s being challenged.
The Bologna Referral: The First Constitutional Challenge to Unlimited Ius Sanguinis
On November 26, 2024, a Bologna judge questioned for the first time whether unlimited Italian citizenship by descent was constitutional. Milan, Florence, and Rome followed. The Constitutional Court’s response would become an unexpected weapon for citizenship rights.