Decision of the Court of Cassation, I Civil Section, No. 7478 of 31 March 2014

In this judgment the Court of Cassation stated that in the case of conflict between the father and the mother of a minor, the child must be heard by the court for deciding on custody, provided that this is in the interest of the child and in accordance with his/her maturity. This principle, which results from Article 12 of the New York Convention on the Rights of the Child, is laid down also in the relevant Italian legislation (Article 155 sexies of the civil code, further strengthened by law No. 219 of 2012).