What is the 1948 Rule for Italian Citizenship?

The 1948 rule, also known as the “rule of 1948,” affects how certain cases for recognition of dual Italian citizenship are handled for individuals seeking Italian dual citizenship by descent through maternal lineage.

The law on Italian citizenship no. 91 of February 5, 1992, is based on the principle of equality between men and women. Both transmit citizenship to their children as provided by article 1.

The previous laws (number 555/1912, art 1 and art 4 Codice del Regno d’Italia) did not recognize the principle of equality between men and women and, on the contrary, provided that only the child of a citizen father was normally an Italian citizen. Additionally, children born to an Italian citizen and a foreign citizen could not be recognized as Italians if the mother had acquired foreign citizenship through marriage.

On January 1, 1948, the Italian Constitution came into force, establishing equal rights for men and women. Only in 1983 did the Italian Constitutional Court declare unconstitutional article 1 of law no. 555 of 1912, in the part in which it did not provide that the child of a citizen mother is also a citizen by birth.

The ruling of the Constitutional Court was a pioneer to Law No. 123, approved in April of the same year, 1983, which allowed the transmission of Italian citizenship to children through the mother, introducing the principle of moral and legal equality between men and women in the Italian legal system regarding the transmissibility of this right to children.

For those born before 1983, the Italian Government requested an opinion from the Consiglio di Stato, the court that has advisory functions and jurisdictional functions in the administrative field.  The ruling of the Consiglio di Stato (opinion n. 105 April 15, 1983) affirmed that the equality principle applies only to children born after January 1, 1948—this being the date the Italian Constitution was adopted. For this reason, Italian consulates and city halls only accept applications for Italian citizenship from children born to an Italian mother after January 1, 1948.

In such cases, the applicant must apply in a Court proceeding to be recognized Italian citizen.

The 1948 Rule and loss of citizenship through marriage

Before 1948, Italian women could automatically lose their citizenship by marrying a foreign national. This discriminatory practice changed in 1975 when the Italian Constitutional Court made a significant ruling stating that women should not automatically forfeit their citizenship upon marrying a non-Italian citizen. However, this ruling did not apply retrospectively to marriages that took place before 1948.

The 2009 precedent from the Court of Cassation (the 1948 Rule) changed that. This ruling allowed Italian women who had lost their citizenship through pre-1948 marriages to regain their national status.