The Board of NELFA recently decided to take a clear stance against the so-called “World Congress of Families” (WFC) which will be held from 29-31 March in Verona, Italy. WCF […]
Italy: A courageous decision and the triumph of reason!
A lesbian couple from Turin successfully registered their son, born through medically assisted procreation: Chiara Foglietta, a Turin councillor, and her partner Micaela Ghisleni (both members of Famiglie Arcobaleno and […]
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Italy did not violate the rights of a couple by removing a child they were caring for as a result of a surrogacy agreement made in Russia. The facts of the case differed from other surrogacy cases that have come before the ECHR, in that the child was not biologically related to either of the intended parents bringing the case. After attempting unsuccessfully to have a child, the couple had approached a Russian surrogacy agency. The couple claimed that they provided the husband’s semen to the clinic and, after in vitro fertilisation, two embryos were implanted into a surrogate mother’s womb. After returning to Italy with the child born as a result and attempting to register the birth, Italian prosecutors launched criminal proceedings against the couple for allegedly misrepresenting their relationship with the child. During the investigation, it emerged that the child was not biologically related to the couple and the child was removed from their care. The child was initially placed in a children’s home followed by foster care and at the time of the case, was going through the adoption procedure.
The case was solely an application on behalf of the intended parents, as the court found that as they had not been caring for the child for two years by the point the case reached the ECHR, they did not have authority to act on behalf of the child. Nonetheless, the court did place emphasis on the best interests of the child in reaching its decision, but accepted that “the Italian courts, having assessed that the child would not suffer grave or irreparable harm from the separation, struck a fair balance between the different interests at stake, while remaining within the wide margin of appreciation available to them in this case.” The case overturns a judgment from 2015 and could have serious consequences for children born of surrogacy when it is prohibited by the home country of the intended parents.
Bron: Nieuwsbrief CRIN (Childs Rights International Network)
Twin boys born to a same-sex couple through surrogacy do not have the legal status of brothers, an Italian court has ruled. The fathers – who both provided sperm – have, however, each been allowed to become the legal parent of their own biological child. The boys were born in California, where surrogacy is legal. But when their fathers brought them back to Italy a registry office clerk in Milan refused to grant their birth certificates because making or advertising surrogacy arrangements is illegal under Italian law. This effectively denied the children Italian nationality and their fathers’ parental rights, leading the fathers to sue the civil registry. The couple’s request was originally denied but upheld on appeal. Despite recognising each father as the legal parent of their own child, the twins cannot be recognised as the couple’s children and their fathers could not adopt each other’s son as same-sex couples cannot adopt in Italy. For more on this issue, read the special edition CRINmail on surrogacy and children’s rights.
Bron: Nieuwsbrief CRIN (Childs Rights International Network)
Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation: uphold ‘step-child adoption’ by same-sex couples
The Network of European LGBTIQ Families Associations (NELFA) welcomes the decision on 22 June by Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation to uphold the 2014 decision of a lower court to […]
Italy: NELFA welcomes the new civil unions law, but criticizes lack of adoption provisions
The Network of European LGBTIQ* Families Associations (NELFA) welcomes the approval on 11 May 2016, of the new civil unions law by the Italian Parliament extending some rights to same-sex […]
Victory for rainbow families: The Naples, Italy, Court of Appeal orders full recognition of two second-parent adoptions
The Court of Appeal of the Italian city of Naples today ordered full recognition of two second-parent adoption orders by the Court of Lille (France) in favour of a French-Italian […]
Italian Senate voted on draft civil unions law – NELFA is not in a celebratory mood
On 25 February 2016, the Italian Senate voted in favour of a draft civil unions law aimed at providing same-sex couples with similar rights to those of heterosexual couples. A […]
Italië neemt wet aan voor erkenning van homoparen, maar regelt niet de rechten van roze ouders
Bron: ILGA Europe, 25-02-2016 Tonight, the Italian Senate (one of two parliamentary chambers) voted in favour of a Same-Sex Civil Union and Cohabitation Bill which would establish an institution of […]
Italy – Family EVERY Day
Dear Member and Friends, Many of your probably know that in Italy debate has been heating up on whether or not to approve civil unions legislation for same-sex couples, including […]