In a stunning reversal, Italy's Constitutional Court has decided to punt one of its most contentious decisions to Europe's highest legal authority. The question at stake: whether a 2025 law that slams the door on Italian citizenship for countless descendants living abroad actually breaks EU law.
For months, the court had refused to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. But this spring, it changed its mind completely. Now it's asking Luxembourg to determine whether the new restrictions square with fundamental EU citizenship principles before the Italian court issues its own ruling. For lawyers challenging the legislation, the shift feels like a confession.
A sudden about-face on a divisive law
Italy passed Law 74/2025 in March, and it hit hard. The legislation tightened the rules around jure sanguinis (right of blood) citizenship, limiting automatic eligibility to just two generations of descendants. Anyone with a great-grandparent who emigrated from Italy, along with more distant relatives, suddenly found themselves ineligible. The backlash has been fierce, with hundreds of lawsuits filed and passionate protests from Italian diaspora communities in South America, North America, and Australia.
What makes the court's turnaround so striking is how recent the initial refusal was. Just a few months earlier, the court had dismissed calls for a referral to the ECJ. Then something shifted. "We'd requested a referral in the previous hearing, but the court denied it," said Corrado Caruso, a law professor at Bologna University. "It's a positive step because it means the court has some doubts."
Marco Mellone, one of four lawyers leading the challenge against the law, called the move "a 180-degree change of direction" and described it as "a confession that they made a mistake in March." Monica Restanio, another attorney involved, called the referral "the best news that we could have got."
What the lawyers are arguing
The legal argument hinges on a core principle: governments can't strip citizenship rights through blanket laws without considering individual circumstances. Lawyers representing descendants argue that the new restrictions retroactively take away citizenship from people who already qualified under previous rules. That, they contend, violates decades of ECJ case law requiring proportionality and a case-by-case assessment.
Previous ECJ rulings have consistently held that decisions affecting EU citizenship must respect the rights of individual member states while also protecting EU citizens themselves. A one-size-fits-all approach, the legal team suggests, flies in the face of this established framework. "The law was completely against 30 years of case law at the ECJ," Mellone told CNN.
The stakes extend beyond citizenship paperwork. If the ECJ finds that aspects of the law conflict with EU principles, Italy's Constitutional Court could force Parliament to amend or scrap it. There's also a related case pending before Italy's Supreme Court concerning a separate 2024 measure restricting citizenship for children born abroad. A favorable ruling from the ECJ could influence that outcome as well.
What happens next
The ball is now in the ECJ's court. The Luxembourg-based judges will examine whether the new restrictions align with EU citizenship rights and established European legal principles. Italian lawmakers and government officials will be watching carefully. If Europe's top court rules against the law, Rome faces pressure to rewrite it or risk diplomatic friction across the EU.
For the millions of people with Italian heritage living abroad, the decision will carry real weight. Many travel to Italy regularly to reconnect with ancestral villages and extended family. Some have invested years and significant money in genealogical research to prove their lineage. A shift in Italian law could reshape who qualifies to claim that identity and, ultimately, who can move freely within Europe as an EU citizen.
The constitutional court's change of heart suggests that doubts about the law run deep among Italy's own judges. Whether the ECJ agrees remains to be seen. But the legal battle is far from over, and the outcome could reshape citizenship rights for generations of Italian descendants worldwide.
