tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/italian-law-41274/articlesItalian law – The Conversation2019-02-25T12:28:16Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1123902019-02-25T12:28:16Z2019-02-25T12:28:16ZBanksy finally goes to court to stop unauthorised merchandising, despite saying copyright is for losers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260677/original/file-20190225-26171-js0yto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A visitor enjoys the art of Banksy exhbition at the Mudec Museum in Milan.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.epa.eu/arts-culture-and-entertainment-photos/arts-general-photos/a-visual-protest-the-art-of-banksy-exhibit-photos-54789174">EPA-EFE</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Copyright is for losers – or so Banksy <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/114683.Wall_and_Piece">once claimed</a>. But the days of the mysterious artist’s dislike for intellectual property now appear to be long gone, as he has recently <a href="https://www.ilgiorno.it/milano/cronaca/bansky-1.4455040">won a case of unauthorised merchandising in Italy</a>. </p>
<p>The unauthorised copying of Banksy works is widespread – a stroll through London’s popular markets in Camden and Brick Lane, and a quick search online proves that. His work has been printed and reproduced on everything from mugs to mouse mats. But despite previous rumours that Banksy’s lawyers have sent letters to complain about his artworks being exploited, it seems so far that these objections have not made their way into courtrooms. </p>
<p>However, at the end of 2018, <a href="https://www.pestcontroloffice.com/whatispco.html">Pest Control</a>, the handling service that authenticates Banksy’s artworks, took action against an Italian company that organised an exhibition – <a href="https://www.24orecultura.com/art/mostre/2018-07-02/banksy-113835.php">The art of Banksy. A visual protest</a> – for Milan’s Mudec Museum. The event opened in November 2018, and runs until April 2019. </p>
<p>In January, a provisional ruling by a court in Milan ordered the museum to stop selling merchandise which reproduced Banksy’s branded art. While the works on display were either original, or authentic prints, the organisers were also selling products such as notebooks, diaries, postcards, bookmarks and erasers, all of which incorporated Banksy’s art.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260670/original/file-20190225-26149-bfk4d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Banksy’s flower thrower, as painted in the West Bank village of Beit Sahour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beit-sahour-occupied-palestinian-territories-june-336012893?src=SGnIU6YY9PkPKJXVoSTOug-1-0">Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Pest Control enforced its trademark rights over the Banksy name and his iconic pieces <a href="https://www.wikiart.org/en/banksy/girl-with-balloon">Girl with balloon</a> and <a href="https://www.wikiart.org/en/banksy/flower-thrower">Flower thrower</a>. It did so to stop the unauthorised merchandising, as well as the use of Banksy imagery in the promotional material produced by the exhibition’s organisers. While the Milan judge noted that the use of Banksy’s name and art on merchandise amounted to trademark infringement, he denied wrongdoings with regards to the promotional material. The court stressed that the use of Banksy’s art on such material is informative in the sense that it is necessary to describe the contents of the show. </p>
<h2>Changing legal strategy</h2>
<p>So should we now expect more legal actions by Banksy, in courts around the world? If the artist, who has long tolerated other people copying, appropriating and exploiting his art, is changing his strategy it wouldn’t be a bad thing. After all, artists have good reasons to ask for intellectual property protection, whether they produce works in the studio or <a href="https://theconversation.com/graffiti-copyright-battles-pitch-artists-against-advertisers-30291">paint in the streets</a>. They put effort and creativity in producing art, and the law should reward them accordingly. And indeed several graffiti writers and street artists have also <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-brands-ripping-off-street-art-is-not-cool-why-illegal-graffiti-should-be-protected-by-copyright-93439">recently fought to protect their works</a> on copyright grounds.</p>
<p>Although the court confirmed that Pest Control trademark registrations were valid, the judge noted that the documents filed in the proceedings showed just limited use of Banksy brand. Basically, the Banksy logo is only used on certificates of authenticity released on Pest Control letterhead, and on some canvas frames. This is a clear weak point in Banksy and Pest Control’s legal strategy going forward. If Banksy wants to keep enforcing any of <a href="https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmowner/page/search?id=39918&domain=1&app=0&mark=UK00003354581">his trademarks</a> in courts around the world, and avoid the risk of them being cancelled for lack of use, he will need to show judges stronger evidence of his brands being used in the market. This probably means he needs to start regularly producing and selling his own branded merchandise through a specialised commercial vehicle, which so far has not really happened – and may be considered by Banksy himself as antithetical to the very anti-capitalistic message he wants to convey through his art.</p>
<p>What is also noteworthy in this case is that Pest Control has decided not to enforce Banksy’s copyright. Such a decision doesn’t come as a surprise though, as it would require Pest Control to show judges that it has acquired the copyright from the artist. But this would entail the disclosure of Banksy’s real name, which the artist obviously doesn’t want to reveal as it would remove the aura of mystery surrounding him, and consequently reduce the value of his art.</p>
<p>All in all, this legal action in Milan confirms once again Banksy’s ambiguity. He is an artist that started a suit to stop the commercial and unauthorised use of a brand which he deliberately does not use in the market (probably to avoid blurring the anti-consumerist nature of his art). But Banksy cannot have it both ways. If he wants to fight regularly (and successfully) against the unauthorised exploitation of his works, especially his brands, he will need to accept the market-driven logic underpinning their legal protection, and start a proper business plan which includes merchandising of his own art, as most art entrepreneurs do. After all, it is entirely possible to create art to send anti-establishment messages and at the same time legally protect the commercial side of it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enrico Bonadio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Banksy’s legal team has won an action to stop unauthorised products featuring his work alongside an Italian museum exhibition.Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in Law, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1097512019-01-28T13:35:58Z2019-01-28T13:35:58ZCentre-left Italian mayors are refusing to implement a government decree targeting migrants<p>Around 500 people will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/23/italy-evicts-more-than-500-people-refugee-centre-near-rome">be evicted</a> from a large refugee reception centre in Castelnuovo di Porto, a town close to Rome, before the end of January. The move follows the adoption of a new “<a href="http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2018/10/04/18G00140/sg">security decree</a>” in early December 2018 by the Italian parliament, which reduces the rights of migrants and asylum seekers. </p>
<p>The decree was spearheaded by Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and leader of the right-wing Northern League, currently governing Italy in coalition with the populist 5 Star Movement, led by the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte. </p>
<p>But while some areas of Italy are complying with the new decree, a number of mayors and regional authorities have refused to implement it. On January 2, the centre-left mayor of the Sicilian city of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, <a href="https://www.thelocal.it/20190102/sicilian-mayor-defies-salvini-on-residency-terms-for-migrants">announced his intention</a> not to apply the decree. Other “disobedient” mayors have quickly followed suit. So too have entire regions – especially those run by the centre-left Democratic Party, such as Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Umbria and Piedmont.</p>
<p>Orlando said the decree was “<a href="https://it.euronews.com/2019/01/04/orlando-in-piazza-difendo">inhuman and criminogenic</a>” as it makes migrants – including children and those on a work permit – irregular, and excessively interferes with their human rights. The mayor ordered the chief of the Palermo Register Office not to apply the part of the new decree that stops migrants with a residence permit from registering with the municipality. Such registration provides access to services, including health care, job centres and schooling – all of which would be denied to migrants should the decree be applied. </p>
<p>Centre-left mayors in Naples, Florence, Parma, Pescara and Reggio Calabria have also refused to implement the security decree. Now, some of the regions run by centre-left parties are considering <a href="http://www.ansa.it/english/news/politics/2019/01/08/marche-mulling-appeal-on-security-decree_f5c108b1-0f5c-46b9-b286-0c5ca22eeea5.html">bringing the matter to the attention</a> of Italy’s Constitutional Court. They argue that the decree legislates on matters that, under the constitution, belong to regional competences – in particular, public health, vocational training and right to education.</p>
<p>As well as depriving migrants of basic services and fundamental rights, the decree also abolishes the two-year residence permit for humanitarian reasons. This was given to migrants whose asylum claim was rejected but for various reasons such as their health, or serious poverty in their country of origin, would not be forced to return. </p>
<p>The decree also closes the System of Protection of Asylum Seekers and Refugees (or SPRARs) to asylum seekers. These are places where migrants usually benefit from ad-hoc programmes to facilitate their integration, such as Italian language courses or vocational training. From now on, SPRARs will only be open to unaccompanied children and those whose asylum application has been successful – not to migrants waiting for a decision on their asylum application and whose residence permit for humanitarian reasons has expired.</p>
<p>According to the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, this is <a href="https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/new-irregulars-italy-21813">likely to result in</a> an increase in the number of migrants living on Italian territory irregularly – and in their possible engagement in criminal activities. In order to survive, they may take on undocumented work – which is itself illegal – or end up exploited by criminal networks. The decree also gives local authorities more power to criminalise “unwanted” people, such as the homeless or squatters in empty buildings, and ban them from public spaces. This may criminalise migrants even further.</p>
<h2>Excluding by decree</h2>
<p>Such harsh security provisions targeting migrants are not exclusive to right-wing political parties in Italy – centre-left governments have also used them. In late February 2017, the centre-left government of Paolo Gentiloni adopted two decrees: one to deal with <a href="http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2017/02/17/17G00026/sg">migration</a> and one to address the issue of <a href="http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2017/02/20/17G00030/sg">security in cities</a>. One of the effects allowed municipalities to adopt administrative orders to protect the “decorum”, the “urban liveability” and the “peace and quiet of residents”, and to ban people from certain city areas. </p>
<p>Such language, as our research has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756061617301209">illustrated</a>, went against a 2011 ruling by the Constitutional Court, ordering legislators to avoid vague legal formulations that result in very broad powers for local authorities. In the past, such powers <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317360230/chapters/10.4324/9781315668147-11">have been used</a> by local authorities <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317360209/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315668130-8">run by both right and left-wing</a> political parties to excessively penalise harmless yet undesired behaviour, or the unwanted presence in public spaces of people such as Roma people, beggars, sex workers and refugees. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-italian-courts-are-struggling-to-protect-peoples-freedom-in-public-spaces-74879">Why Italian courts are struggling to protect people's freedom in public spaces</a>
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<h2>Local realities</h2>
<p>This time, however, local authorities led mostly by <a href="http://www.vita.it/it/article/2019/01/08/i-comuni-resistenti-al-dl-sicurezza-sono-piu-di-100-la-storia-della-ma/150278/">centre-left parties</a> are worried about the impact the government’s new security decree will have on their local areas. What they don’t want to happen is more migrants, made irregular by the new decree, on their streets with no access to health care, jobs and schooling. </p>
<p>The mayors would rather focus on integration, rather than repression. They have expressed these concerns through their association, the <a href="http://www.anci.it/index.cfm?layout=dettaglio&IdSez=821212&IdDett=65511">ANCI</a>, which is currently discussing workable solutions with the prime minister to reduce the number of migrants who will be made “irregular” by the new security decree. </p>
<p>At the centre of this issue is a disjunction between the government – and the Northern League in particular – and the realities of local politics. While the government wants to show the electorate it is taking a firm stance against migration, local administrators need to deal with migrants on a daily basis – and do not want to unnecessarily criminalise them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In acts of civil disobedience, some centre-left mayors and regional authorities are resisting a government-level clampdown on asylum seekers.Anna Di Ronco, Lecturer in Criminology, University of EssexMarco Calaresu, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Analysis, University of SassariLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/878762017-11-23T11:33:08Z2017-11-23T11:33:08ZHow mobster Salvatore Riina helped motivate a fightback against the mafia<p>Salvatore “Toto” Riina, once leader of the Sicilian mafia, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/obituaries/salvatore-toto-riina-dies.html">has died</a> in a prison hospital at the age of 87. In Italy, reaction to his death has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/17/toto-riina-sicilian-mafia-boss-of-bosses-dies-cosa-nostra-italy">been mixed</a>. For me, having studied Italian mafias since the early 1990s, when Riina’s Cosa Nostra was waging war against the Italian state, his death brings a strange sense of restless closure to an important chapter in the history of Italian organised crime.</p>
<p>Riina was born in the hill town of Corleone, and began his career in Cosa Nostra at the age of 19. By the early 1970s, he had become one of the group’s main leaders, imposing his own brutal “mafia model” on the rest of the organisation and eliminating possible rivals.</p>
<p>Like many mafiosi, he had nicknames. He was variously known as “Il capo dei capi” (the boss of all bosses) and “Totò ‘u curtu” (Toto the short one). But it was the moniker “La Belva” (the Beast) which will define his place in Italian postwar history. It serves as a stark reminder of the extensive violence he used to transform the Sicilian mafia from a traditional criminal organisation into a killing machine which adopted a terrorist strategy against its enemies and the state. </p>
<p>When Riina died, he was serving 26 life sentences for ordering innumerable murders and massacres. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/17/toto-riina-sicilian-mafia-boss-of-bosses-dies-cosa-nostra-italy">Victims included</a> mafia rivals, journalists, businessmen, politicians, police officers, investigators and judges (including Giovanni Falcone, Francesca Morvillo, Paolo Borsellino and Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa). </p>
<p>He imposed cruelty and treachery on all those who got in his way, as well as their innocent relatives, such as the 14-year-old son of mafioso-turned-informant Santino Di Matteo. The boy, Giuseppe, was kidnapped in 1996, and after two years, strangled and his body dissolved in acid, as punishment for his father’s actions. The mother, aunt and a sister of another informant, Francesco Marino Mannoia, were also savagely murdered in 1989.</p>
<p>Riina finally met his match when the brave and extraordinary judge <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/5367721/Giovanni-Falcone.html">Giovanni Falcone</a> began to investigate the Cosa Nostra in Sicily, Europe and the US. Gus Jones, the only British police officer to have worked with Falcone, told me: “He was a gentleman and the ultimate professional. It was his non confrontational attitude which got him results.”</p>
<p>Falcone (along with his friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino) tried to understand the social, economic and political power of Cosa Nostra. To do this, he understood the importance of following the money trail, but also getting an insider’s perspective of the mafia. </p>
<p>His breakthrough came in 1984, when mafioso and Riina rival, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/06/world/tommaso-buscetta-71-dies-first-italian-mafia-informer.html">Tommaso Buscetta</a>, asked to talk with him. Falcone recalled in his book <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/book-review-the-alternative-society-that-rules-by-the-goat-men-of-honour-the-truth-about-the-mafia-1551527.html">Men of Honour</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Before Buscetta we had only a superficial knowledge of the Mafia phenomenon. With him we began to look inside it. He gave us confirmation of its structure, its recruiting methods and its <em>raison d'être</em>. But above all, he gave us a broad, far reaching global vision of the organisation. He gave us the essential keys to the interpretation of the Mafia, a language, a code.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The intimate and respectful rapport that Falcone developed with Buscetta, and the information he collected from him, and other informants, resulted in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/17/world/338-guilty-in-sicily-in-a-mafia-trial-19-get-life-terms.html">Maxi Trial of 1986-92</a> and the conviction of more than 350 mafia members. This further convinced Falcone of the fundamental importance of implementing a formal Italian state witness protection programme. </p>
<p>Just before Falcone was <a href="http://www.lastampa.it/2017/05/23/multimedia/italia/cronache/maggio-la-strage-di-capaci-muore-il-giudice-giovanni-falcone-IYSezVyKlw6OaVuouHiPnO/pagina.html">murdered in 1992</a> by Riina’s men, a law was passed in 1991 which established such a programme. It gave the state significant tools to fight against the mafia over the last 26 years – at one point there were over 1,200 state witnesses signed up.</p>
<p>When Riina <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italys-top-mafia-boss-is-arrested-6104037.html">was arrested in 1993</a> in the centre of Palermo, after 24 years on the run, his associate, Bernardo Provenzano, took up the reigns and adopted a different strategy. The Cosa Nostra attempted a less visible approach, with a drive towards more peaceful criminal activities. Cosa Nostra entered a silent phase.</p>
<h2>Mafia minds</h2>
<p>Riina however, did not repent, and took many secrets with him to the grave. Among these, probably, the details of Cosa Nostra’s relationship with political parties such as the Christian Democratic party and Forza Italia and with the state. Over the last couple of years, he was <a href="http://www.adnkronos.com/fatti/cronaca/2017/11/17/finira-peggio-falcone-ossessione-riina-per-matteo_k9skbv4caZaiCDBUvMqh7I.html">regularly intercepted</a> talking with his cellmate about the murder of Judge Falcone and how to deal with the new generation of anti-mafia judges.</p>
<p>So does his own death signal the end of Cosa Nostra? Certainly it marks a moment of frustration for those of us researching and teaching it, who may now never fully understand the secrets and rationale behind the crimes Riina ordered and who his accomplices were. </p>
<p>That said, his decision to adopt such a violent strategy against the Italian state, and his belief that he was outsmarting everyone, can now be seen as perhaps the direct cause of Cosa Nostra’s demise and its ultimate weakening. For in response, the state started to actively engage in the fight against organised crime – and has since kept up that momentum. It can also perhaps help explain the increased power abroad of rivals like the Calabrian Ndrangheta and the Neapolitan Camorra in the 1990s, as Cosa Nostra became distracted by local events. </p>
<p>But Cosa Nostra and Italian mafias are not finished. <a href="http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100235890">Far from it</a>, in fact. As Falcone himself warned: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Let us not forget that the Mafia is the most agile and pragmatic organisation imaginable, compared to our social institutions and to society in general.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Cosa Nostra, like the Calabrian Ndrangheta, the Neapolitan Camorra and the Pugliese Sacra Corona Unità, is already onto the next thing. They have a new generation of leaders, modern business activities, hidden associates and profitable political projects. For now, the Italian state must prevent Riina from being seen as a martyr – and its law enforcement agencies, together with their international colleagues, must be as vigilant as ever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87876/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felia Allum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The former ‘boss of all bosses’ has died aged 87 while serving 26 life sentences.Felia Allum, Senior Lecturer in Italian and Politics, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/816222017-07-27T02:04:03Z2017-07-27T02:04:03ZExplainer: Matt Canavan and the process of obtaining Italian citizenship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179759/original/file-20170726-10549-1el1l4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Matt Canavan says he did not know he was an Italian citizen, claiming his mother signed him up on his behalf.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Queensland senator <a href="https://youtu.be/65pmpe_5MI8">Matt Canavan’s claim</a> that his mother signed him up for Italian citizenship – without his knowledge or consent – is a convenient justification for an embarrassing oversight that could <a href="https://theconversation.com/constitutions-wide-net-catches-even-mps-who-had-no-idea-theyre-foreign-citizens-81573">cost him his political career</a>. Australia’s Constitution <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/%7E/link.aspx?_id=074367F0015D42C2B005207F5642376A&_z=z%20-%20chapter-01_part-04_44">bars dual citizens</a> from standing for, or sitting in, federal parliament.</p>
<p>Canavan says he did not know he was an Italian citizen. He was not born in Italy and he has never lived in Italy – yet he was seemingly able to obtain Italian citizenship. How?</p>
<h2>Blood matters</h2>
<p>Italy’s citizenship policy is considered one of the most generous among European countries. Based on the <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100027515"><em>ius sanguinis</em> principle</a> (law of blood), it allows Italian descendants to pass on Italian citizenship to family members.</p>
<p>The policy does not put any limitations on Italian citizenship acquired in this way. If a person can demonstrate they have an Italian ancestor, they are entitled to apply for Italian citizenship and acquire full citizenship rights. This includes voting rights and a pension, together with a European Union passport.</p>
<p>Over the years, people with Italian blood have started what’s been described by former Italian prime minister Giuliano Amato and others as the “ancestor hunt” to demonstrate their “Italianness” to Italian authorities.</p>
<h2>Exploitation of Italian citizenship policy</h2>
<p>Italian authorities have, in recent years, noticed an increasing number of citizenship applications coming from countries outside the Schengen Area (a collection of 26 European countries that allow visa-free travel). </p>
<p>This has <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=vmLEIYp90qoC&">raised questions</a> about the possible exploitation of the policy by some Italian descendants who are not interested in actively becoming part of the Italian community. Instead, they are interested in gaining an EU passport.</p>
<p>In 2015, there were roughly 4.8 million Italian citizens <a href="http://www.aise.it/primo-piano/rapporto-migrantes-2016-la-mobilit%C3%A0-%C3%A8-una-risorsa/72426/160">living outside Italy</a>. In 2016, the largest presence of Italians abroad was <a href="http://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/2016/07/annuario_statistico2016_r_070716.pdf">in Argentina</a>. </p>
<p>The South American country was one of the most popular destinations for Italian emigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it is not a destination country today. However, it remains the country with the most Italian citizens living abroad, with an <a href="http://ucs.interno.gov.it/ucs/allegati/Download:Acquisto_concessione_e_reiezione_della_cittadinanza_italiana-5729609.htm">increasing number of applications</a> lodged by Italian descendants to obtain an Italian passport.</p>
<p>Australia has the tenth-largest number of Italian citizens abroad; it is home to 148,483 Italian citizens. However, potentially thousands of Italian descendants (second-, third- and fourth-generation Italians) living in Australia could demonstrate to Italian consulates and embassies that they have “Italian blood” and obtain an Italian passport – as Canavan’s mother seems to have done.</p>
<h2>Are all Italo-Australians Italian citizens?</h2>
<p>Not all Italo-Australians are de-facto Italian citizens. For example, despite his Italian background, Greens leader Richard Di Natale is not an Italian citizen.</p>
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<p>To obtain Italian citizenship, a formal request must be submitted to an Italian embassy or consulate. This process requires a significant number of steps and <a href="http://www.consmelbourne.esteri.it/consolato_melbourne/en/per-i-cittadini/comites.html">documents attached</a> to the application. These include birth certificates and other documents related to the main applicant and their relatives to prove the claim to citizenship is valid.</p>
<p>Most importantly, the main applicant (if 18 years of age or older) needs to sign these documents. This point is very important in relation to Canavan’s case, as he claims his mother applied on his behalf, despite him being older than 18 at the time. </p>
<p>Italo-Australians with dual citizenship can also renounce their Italian citizenship.</p>
<h2>The right to dual citizenship</h2>
<p>Allowing people to have more than one citizenship is considered the norm in the majority of Western countries. Having more than one citizenship is no longer considered a violation of the trust between a country and its people.</p>
<p>A passport has lost its original meaning over time, too. It has largely become a mere tool to facilitate people movement and give greater opportunities to those who have more than one citizenship.</p>
<p>It might be perceived as a great privilege or undeserved gift, as in the case of Italy’s generous legislation – especially when the gift is an EU passport. But since this is a right, why should people renounce it? </p>
<p>Australia allows its citizens to have dual citizenship. And it cannot control the regulation of other countries’ policies.</p>
<p>The Italian government is not even remotely considering revising the existing policy regarding Italians abroad. The pillar of the policy remains the <em>ius sanguinis</em> principle, and people with Italian blood will always be Italian – if they want to be.</p>
<p>While Australia’s High Court will need to rule on Canavan’s eligibility to continue his political career, in the eyes of Italian law he will always be Italian – with or without citizenship.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chiara De Lazzari is affiliated with the Contemporary European Studies Association of Australia (CESAA).
. </span></em></p>Matt Canavan was seemingly able to obtain Italian citizenship without being born or spending any time in Italy.Chiara De Lazzari, Teaching and Research Associate at the University of Melbourne, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.