Vita gazette – The decision of the Constitutional Court: “All the rules that automatically attribute the surname of the father to the son are illegitimate”. The new rule: It will be the result of a choice.

Constitutional Court has ruled on the rule that does not allow parents, by mutual agreement, to attribute only the mother’s surname to the child and on that which, in the absence of agreement, imposes only the father’s surname. The decision of the Constitutional Court: “All the rules that automatically attribute the surname of the father to the child are illegitimate”.

The new rule

According to the decision, children born after this will take the surnames of both parents. So the children will have two surnames. Parents will decide together which of the surnames will come first and which will come later. If they disagree, the court will decide. If, on the other hand, the parents agree, the children can only have one surname. However, the parents will decide which surname to use.

The principle of equality

According to the decision, the rule that automatically assigns the father’s surname is discriminatory and harmful to the identity of the child. In the wake of the principle of equality and the interest of the child, both parents must be able to share the choice of the surname, which is a fundamental element of personal identity.

A couple started the case

The decision on the surname in question started from the case of a couple residing in Basilicata. The reason for the lawsuit was that the mother’s children born before the marriage and the child born after the marriage had different surnames. The son born after the marriage took the father’s surname directly. The couple, who started the judicial procedure so that their children have the same surname, went to the Constitutional Court. As a result, the decision was made in favour of the couple.