In 2014, the Italian Interior Minister, Angelino Alfano, ordered all prefects to annul all registrations made by mayors recognising same-sex marriages performed abroad, arguing that the Italian Civil Code makes no mention of same-sex marriage and so any attempt to recognise it is therefore illegal. The legal system had already been used to stop some mayors recognising same-sex couples, but all such cases were ultimately dismissed by the courts after failing to determine a particular offence. Indeed, a public prosecutor in the city of Udine ruled that a prefect may not invalidate marriages agreed by municipal mayors, thus effectively annulling the order made by Alfano. On 9 March 2015, the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio suspended Alfano's order because only civil courts may annul the registration of same-sex marriages contracted abroad. However, the court also found that overseas marriages could not be recognized in Italy because of the lack of domestic legislation.