Constitutional Court hearing on March 11, Possible Outcomes and Next Steps
Key Details:
- Italy’s Constitutional Court will hold a hearing on March 11, 2026 regarding Law 74/2025, which tightened the rules for Italian citizenship by descent.
- In February of 2026, a group of experts in Italy met to discuss the possible outcomes of the upcoming court hearing.
- The possible outcomes discussed included the Court upholding the law, declaring the entire law unconstitutional, or declaring parts of the law unconstitutional.
- The Court’s official decision is expected within about 4 weeks from March 11, 2026.
- It is recommended to continue preparing your case now so you are as ready as possible once the Court’s decision is released.
Upcoming Constitutional Court Hearing
On March 11, 2026, Italy’s Constitutional Court will hold a hearing focusing on the constitutionality of Law 74/2025 (formerly Decree 36/2025), which tightened the rules for Italian citizenship by descent (jus sanguinis). The core issue at the center of the hearing is whether the 2025 law violates the Italian Constitution by limiting recognition only to descendants who have a parent or grandparent born in Italy who also maintained exclusive Italian citizenship.
Possible Outcomes Determined by Experts
On February 7, 2026 a group of Italian magistrates, constitutional scholars, and lawyers specializing in Italian citizenship, held a special consortium to discuss the upcoming court hearing. Below is a summary of what these experts believe are the most likely outcomes of the upcoming hearing:
- The Court Upholds the Law as Written: The experts’ consensus was that it is very unlikely that the Constitutional Court will uphold Law 74/2025 in its entirety.
- The Court Declares the Entire Law Unconstitutional: The Court may rule that the retroactive limitations introduced in 2025 are entirely invalid. The experts thought that the law being repealed in its entirety is possible, but relatively unlikely.
- The Court Declares Parts of the Law Unconstitutional: The experts suggested a possible middle-ground outcome in which the Court eliminates the “retroactive” effect of the new rules for pending applications while allowing stricter rules for future applications. Alternatively, the Court could establish a limited window of time to file applications for those who became disqualified by the new law.
What to do While Waiting for the Court’s Decision
It is expected that the Court’s written decision will be released within about 4 weeks from the March 11 hearing. It is recommended to continue preparing for your case since document collection, correcting discrepancies, translations, apostilles, and legal review often take months before a case is ready. Experienced attorneys already have existing queues and quality preparation is more important than speed. Careful preparation now can help prevent delays and complications later in the process.
If you are an active ICAP client with a case currently on hold and you would like to move forward with preparing your case, please contact your Case Manager or click here to schedule a call. If you are a new client, or would like to re-activate a closed case and need information on how to proceed, please click here to schedule an appointment with an Intake Specialist.
ICAP will continue to monitor any developments and will share all relevant details as soon as the official decision is released. Please hold any general questions regarding the Court’s decision until these details are announced.