Italian children will soon no longer automatically be given the father’s name, the Constitutional Court has ruled.
Until now, the rule in Italy was that a newborn is given the name of the father when he recognizes the child. On common request it is also possible to add the name of the mother so that the child gets a double name, but the name of the mother comes after that of the father.
Also, after marriage, women keep their own names, which means that in most cases Italian mothers have different names than their children. However, according to the Court, this legal standard is not in accordance with articles from the Italian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Soon, parents should be able to freely decide whether to give their children the surname of the father, the mother or a double name, the judges said. They called on politicians to act. A draft for such a law is already on the table in Parliament. If the parents do not explicitly record a surname, the child will automatically be given a double name and therefore no longer the father’s name.
Proponents of a change in the law speak of a “historical statement”, a “small revolution” and a further step towards equal rights for men and women.
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