One of Italy's most traditional political newspapers, The discussion, published this Monday (17) a brief, forceful analysis of the recent decision by the Court of Cassation regarding Italian citizenship.
Founded in 1953 by Alcide de GasperiThe newspaper states that ruling no. 24045/2026 of the United Sections recovers an essential principle of legal certainty and moves towards a more efficient public administration and "a reliable State".
The text, written by journalist Riccardo Renzi and also published in the newspaper's opinion section, goes beyond the technical discussion of the so-called "minor issue." The analysis openly criticizes the interpretative instability that has marked Italian citizenship in recent years.
The newspaper's chosen title itself is significant: the Revocation "brings order" and establishes that the protection of citizen status prevails over the "normative confusion of the past."
The Supreme Court reaffirmed: citizenship is born with the person.
- New legal front opened
- Processes can still be filed.
- Individual assessment before any decision.
"Permanent obstacle to the exercise of rights"
According to La DiscussioneThe importance of the decision lies not only in determining how articles 7 and 12 of the former Law No. 555 of 1912 should be interpreted.
The newspaper argues that a modern public administration needs to operate with predictable rules. According to the author, citizens can only organize their own lives when the law is not constantly altered by fluctuating interpretations.
Criticism of administrative action appears in one of the article's strongest passages. The text argues that the administration cannot transform regulatory uncertainty into "a permanent obstacle to the exercise of rights."
In another passage, the newspaper states that citizenship cannot be subject to a "variable interpretation of the rules," but must be administered with clear and coherent criteria, also respecting the legitimate trust of citizens in the established rules.
The assessment directly addresses one of the problems faced by descendants of Italians in recent years: changes in administrative interpretation capable of altering the treatment of family situations built up many decades earlier.
Citizenship is not "a bureaucratic practice".
La Discussione also draws attention to the legal nature of citizenship. According to the newspaper, it should not be treated simply as a document issued by the administration, but as a legal status from which civil, political, and property rights derive.
According to the author, this is precisely the most important institutional message left by the Cassation: citizenship is not merely a bureaucratic practice, but a fundamental legal relationship between the individual and the State.
The newspaper acknowledges that the Italian Parliament recently modified the rules for citizenship by descent, arguing that this reinforces the need for a real connection with Italy. However, it cautions that these changes must be balanced with legal certainty and the protection of already established situations.
What decided the Cassation?
Sentence No. 24045 It was deposited on July 26, 2026, by the United Civil Sections of the Court of Cassation.
The Court established that a person born abroad who already possessed Italian citizenship from birth... jus sanguinis and another citizenship by ius soli They did not lose their Italian citizenship simply because their father or mother later became a naturalized foreigner.
The United Sections also established that Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992, created by the 2025 reform, does not apply to legal actions for recognition of citizenship filed before March 27th, 2025These processes remain subject to the previous legislation.
The decision ended an interpretative conflict that had led to administrative refusals and divergent judicial decisions regarding descendants of Italians whose ancestors naturalized while their children were still minors.
For La Discussione, however, the repercussions of the ruling go beyond these legal proceedings.
The Constitutional Court's decision changed the landscape. The new citizenship law will now be reviewed by the European Union's courts of justice.
In concluding its analysis, the newspaper states that the decision moves towards greater interpretative stability, considered essential for efficient administration and "a reliable state."
This is a particularly significant read at a time when the rules of Italian citizenship have returned to the center of the country's political, legal, and institutional debate.
