One name appears in the procedural origins of the trial that could affect thousands of applications for Italian citizenship by descent: Alberto PazziAdvisor of First Civil Section of the Court of CassationHe was appointed rapporteur for the decisions that led to United Sections (United Session) Legal controversies: the interpretation of article 12 of Law No. 555 of 1912, regarding the possible loss of citizenship by minor children of Italians naturalized abroad, and the temporal application of article 3-bis, introduced by the 2025 reform, to situations established before the new legislation.
In the Italian justice system, the rapporteur does not individually select the case nor decide alone. They study the case files, present the case to the panel, and participate in the deliberation. It was in this role that Pazzi acted in interlocutory proceedings no. 20122/2025 and no. 20129/2025, by which the First Civil Section, in a collegial manner, determined that the case files should be sent to the First President of the Court for possible assignment. to United Sections.
The case reported by Pazzi
The presentation of the case was made by Alberto Pazzi at the public hearing on May 27, 2025, when the Attorney General's Office also requested that the controversy be referred to the Sezioni Unite (United Sections).
The central point involves Article 12 of Law No. 555 of 1912. The question is whether the naturalization of the Italian parent abroad caused the minor child, born with dual citizenship, to automatically lose Italian citizenship.
The ordinances presented the two competing interpretations.
The argument in favor of maintaining citizenship highlights the literal wording of the rule, which uses the verb "to acquire." According to this interpretation, the loss could not affect someone who already possessed another citizenship from birth, since that person would not have acquired it subsequently due to the naturalization of their father.
The decisions also mentioned circulars from the Ministry of the Interior, from 1991, and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 2011, which recognized the maintenance of Italian citizenship in these cases.
In addition to interpreting the old 1912 Law, the Sezioni Unite will have to examine whether Article 3-bis, introduced by Decree-Law No. 36/2025 and converted into Law No. 74/2025, can be applied to legal situations formed before the reform came into effect.
When will the decision be available for publication?
The Sezioni Unite hearing, initially scheduled for January 2026, took place on April 14. Prosecutor Luisa De Renzis and lawyers Marco Mellone, Leo Piccininni, and Monica Restanio participated in the session.
The decision is still awaiting publication.
In a recent interview, Marco Mellone stated that he believes the ruling could be announced before the judicial recess in August, although he also admitted the possibility of publication occurring in September.
For the lawyer, A delay doesn't necessarily represent a negative sign.Mellone believes that the judges are examining the controversy thoroughly and stated that he is confident in a decision favorable to the descendants of Italians.
"If I have to look at the history of the Italian Supreme Court, there's no other solution," he stated.
The full statements are in the article "There is no other solution: lawyer Mellone confident of victory for Italian descendants".
In subsequent decisions, the Court also postponed the judgment of other appeals related to the same issue, while awaiting the publication of the Sezioni Unite's decision.
Who is Alberto Pazzi?
Alberto Pazzi has served for years in the First Civil Section of the Court of Cassation and, in recent trials, has also appeared presiding over panels of the section.
In addition to citizenship-related cases, the magistrate works and publishes on immigration matters. In the journal Questione Giustizia, he authored an analysis of the Cassation Court's jurisprudence on the detention of foreigners in the context of the so-called Cutro decree.
His work as a rapporteur also covers bankruptcy and insolvency law issues, including cases involving bankruptcies, compositions with creditors, and corporate crises.
The ordinances reported by Pazzi do not necessarily anticipate the outcome of the trial. They present the conflicting legal interpretations and explain why the controversy requires a response from the Sezioni Unite.
The decision will rest with the highest panel of the Court of Cassation and is expected to exert a strong influence on Italian courts in similar cases.
John Robert Di Napoli
15 July 2026 18 at: 18
According to the news report, the decision will be neither favorable nor unfavorable, quite the opposite! Sleep with that noise!
Redaction
15 July 2026 19 at: 45
This article is about who the rapporteur is, not about the merits of the decision. The ruling should be published soon. Then, the article will address what the decision actually said.