Italy’s Constitutional Court refers retrospective citizenship limits to the CJEU
Order 147/2026, published in July, seeks an EU court interpretation of retrospective citizenship limits. It does not overturn the national restrictions.
Italy’s Constitutional Court made Order 147/2026 on 9 June 2026, deposited it on 23 July and published it in the 29 July official gazette. It requested an interpretation from the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the 2025 citizenship restrictions as applied to people born abroad before the amendment who hold another nationality, subject to the statutory exceptions.[1]
The joined cases arose from courts in Mantua and Campobasso. The question concerns the compatibility of Article 3-bis of the Citizenship Law with Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The order stays these proceedings, not the national citizenship restrictions, and does not establish the applicants’ citizenship.[1]
The CJEU has registered the request as Case C-816/26, Picuso. Its case record dates the Official Journal notice to 3 November 2026; that notice sets out the question referred. This is notice of the reference, not a CJEU judgment on its merits.[2]
Official sources
This article provides general information. Individual applications are subject to the applicable rules and the competent authority’s assessment.