Italian courts are experiencing delays in issuing the final judgment certificate, the document that officially concludes judicial processes for the recognition of Italian citizenship. Lawyers working on these cases, interviewed by Italianismo, point to Venice, Trieste, Florence, Bologna, Genoa, and Naples as the most affected courts.
According to these professionals, The delay is directly related to the PNRR.The Italian post-pandemic recovery plan, funded by the European Union, has seen courts focus their efforts on issuing rulings to meet the plan's goals, neglecting subsequent steps that depend on [the relevant factors]. cancellerie, the judicial registry offices.
Venice acknowledges the problem in official documents.
The Venice Court acknowledged the situation in two statements signed by President Andrea Fidanzia. In the first, dated May 27, 2026, the court reports that "the issuance of certificates in citizenship cases is noticeably slower due to a severe staff shortage," exacerbated by the commitment of employees to the goals of the National Renewal Program (PNRR).
In the second statement, dated June 18, 2026, the court determined that, between June 22 and 30, the cancellerie They would only process urgent cases. All personnel were dedicated to reducing the backlog of 2.100 pending judgments, a number that the document itself predicted would increase with the new filings by the judges.
Where is the bottleneck?
The lawyers interviewed by Italianismo explain that the task force has accelerated the signing of sentences, but the staffing situation... cancellerie It remained the same. This is the sector that certifies the final judgment, and the backlog was added to the normal demand of the other courts.
Another factor lengthens the timeframe, according to the same professionals. Courts have begun to condition the issuance of the certificate on confirmation by the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian tax authority) of the payment of the judgment registration tax. In Venice, the interested party pays the fee, notifies the agency by email, and awaits internal communication to the cancellation office before the document is issued.
What could unlock the queue?
The lawyers claim that the Court of Cassation The court has already ruled, in specific cases, that a citizenship recognition ruling is declaratory in nature and self-executing, thus dispensing with the need for a certificate for registration in civil registries. However, these decisions are not binding on civil registrars, who continue to require the document.
For these professionals, a circular from the Ministry of the Interior instructing municipalities to transcribe sentences without requiring a certificate would standardize the procedure and ease the burden on the courts. To date, there has been no statement from the ministry in this regard.
With the August recess in Italy, lawyers estimate that any improvement in the pace of cancellerie It should only appear starting in September.
What is a final and unappealable judgment?
The final judgment (passaggio in giudicato) This is the certificate that attests that the judgment has become final, without possibility of appeal. In citizenship court cases, Italian civil registries usually require this document before transcribing the recognition in the civil records, the final step for issuing certificates and passports. The PNRR (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza) is Italy's investment plan funded by the European Union, which imposes productivity targets on the Italian justice system.
