Decision of the Court of Cassation, United Sections, No. 16207 of 19 Decenber 2013, filed on 14 April 2014

In this judgment the United Sections of the Court of Cassation clarified the interpretation that must be given to Article 600 bis of the criminal code on prostitution of minors. The Court has specified that a distinction must be made between the most serious offense of “forced prostitution” of a child (paragraph 1 of the Article) and the offense of “sexual abuse” of a child (paragraph 2). This distinction does not infringe the principle of guaranteeing a special protection to children, which is enshrined in the Italian domestic legal order and further enhanced, over time, following ratification by Italy of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and, later, of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.