Italy’s Constitutional Court sent the Tajani Decree dispute over Law 74/2025 to the Court of Justice of the European Union in a June 9 order made public Thursday. The move suspends proceedings over restrictions on citizenship by descent and shifts the case to Luxembourg, where judges will now examine whether Article 3-bis fits EU law.
Law 74/2025, adopted by Giorgia Meloni’s government in March 2025 and later approved by Parliament, ended the previous system that imposed no generational limit and required applicants to show closer ties to Italy. The new rules treat people born abroad, including those born before the law took effect, as if they had never acquired Italian citizenship unless they fall within exceptions.
Brazil and Article 3-bis
The dispute has particular weight in Brazil, where the largest community of Italian descendants outside Italy is estimated at 30 million people. For decades, Brazilians with more distant Italian ancestry could seek recognition through administrative proceedings or lawsuits, and the June 9 referral keeps Law 74/2025 in force while individual judges decide whether to pause similar pending cases.
In a separate ruling in May, the Court of Cassation held that people seeking recognition of citizenship may sue not only after an application is denied or delayed, but also when administrative barriers prevent them from filing one. The Court of Cassation also reaffirmed that citizenship by descent is recognized rather than granted and, under the previous legal framework, existed from birth.
Constitutional Court shift
The June referral followed new challenges raised by courts in Mantua and Campobasso, after the Constitutional Court had rejected a similar request to send the matter to the European court in April. In April, the Constitutional Court upheld Law 74/2025 after concluding it did not strip anyone of citizenship already acquired, but the judges also found the legislation created an original bar to acquisition, allowing certain descendants to be treated as if they had never obtained Italian citizenship.
Andrey José Taffner Fraga, a lawyer and coordinator of the Trentino Circles of Santa Catarina and Paraná, said the Constitutional Court recognized that decisions on Italian citizenship also have consequences for EU citizenship, held by all nationals of EU member states. Taffner Fraga said the referral opens a new chapter in the dispute by taking the issue beyond the Italian courts.
Luxembourg review ahead
The Court of Justice of the European Union will now examine whether applying the new rules, including to people born before they took effect, complies with EU citizenship rules. How the Court of Justice of the European Union will rule on Article 3-bis and whether Law 74/2025 will ultimately stand is not answered in the June 9 order, but the referral sets the next legal stage for people seeking recognition of citizenship by descent.
