Decision of the Court of Cassation, VI Criminal Section, No. 41642 of 3 October 2013

The extradition of a mother of tender age children is conditioned to the verification that the requesting States’ criminal legal order guarantees the maintaining of personal relations and direct contact between parent and children, in order to safeguard the psycho-physical integrity of the children, the parent and the family. Such condition arises from the paramount need to protect the best interests of the child who is separated from one or both parents, as foreseen by the Convention on the Right of the Child (Article 9). Therefore, the Supreme Court annulled the decision of the Appeal Court of Catanzaro that failed to carry out said verification.