Decision of the Court of Cassation, I Civil Section, No. 8097 of 26 January 2015

This decision of the Court of Cassation is in application of the principles laid down by the Constitutional Court in its decision No. 170/2014. Based on these principles, the Court of Cassation ruled that the dissolution of the marriage as a result of the change of sex of one of the spouses, which is provided in Italian legislation is not, per se, in contradiction with the Constitution, or Article 8 of the ECHR. Under the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, norms and principles applicable to the same-sex marriage are a matter for national Parliaments. It is however inconsistent with the Constitution and the ECHR the fact of putting an end, automatically, to all effects of the marriage when the change of sex of one of the spouses has occurred, because the fundamental rights and obligations of these persons, which derived from the marriage, deserve protection also in the new situation.