Decision of the Juvenile Court of Rome No. 299 of 30 June 2014

Through this judgment, the Juvenile Court of Rome accepted the application for the adoption of a child introduced by the woman who had contracted a same-sex marriage with the child’s mother in Spain. The Court noted that, generally speaking, adoption is allowed in Italy only to married couples; however, Article 44 of law No. 184 of 1983 (concerning the right of the child to a family) establishes that, in the presence of certain circumstances, it is possible to single persons to adopt a child. On the other hand, the Italian legislation does not contain provisions preventing an individual from adopting a child on the basis of his/her sexual orientation. Such a prohibition would infringe the non discrimination principle and the right to private and family life guaranteed by the Italian Constitution and the ECHR, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights; it would be also inconsistent with the best interest of the child, a guiding principle enshrined in either the New York Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 44 of law No. 184.