The new rule is that “the child takes the surname of both in the order they agree on, unless they decide by mutual agreement to assign only the surname of the other. ‘one of the two’, specifies the Italian Constitutional Court.
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The end of a long fight. The Italian Constitutional Court declared on Wednesday 27 April “illegitimate” the automatic attribution of the family name of the father to the child, the latter being able to have the names of both parents or only one of the two in the event of agreement. This is a decision that comes after “decades of waiting” for Italian women, according to the daily La Repubblica.
“The Court declares the constitutional illegitimacy of all the norms providing for the automatic attribution of the father’s surname to children born in wedlock, out of wedlock and adopted. It will be the duty of legislators to settle all aspects related to this decision “Italy’s highest court said in a statement.
The new rule is that “the child takes the surname of both in the order on which they agree, unless they decide by mutual agreement to assign only the surname of one of the two”, says the Court. In case of disagreement between the parents, it will be up to a judge to rule. In Italy, children have until now automatically had the father’s surname, while the mother traditionally keeps her maiden surname.