Decision of the Juvenile Court of Milano 30 June 2014

The Juvenile Court in Rome authorized the adoption of a little girl by the woman married to her biological mother in Spain (the same-sex marriage is not allowed in Italy). The Court applied the law on the stepchild adoption (Article 44.1, letter d of law No. 184/83, as modified by law No. 149/2001), under which also unmarried persons can adopt a child. The Court observed that the fact of making discrimination among persons on the ground of their sexual orientation when applying this law would be contrary to Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights. On other hand, the rationale for stepchild adoption is that the best interest of the child must prevail, as it is provided by the New York Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Court has therefore reputed that it had a duty to decide on the case in a manner consistent with the little girl’s interest to preserve her relationship with the biological mother’s partner, whom she had always regarded as one of her parents.