Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, Civil Section I, No. 29836/2019, 18 November 2019

Recognition of international humanitarian protection and verification of the practice of infibulation of the minor.

Art. 3 law decree 19 November 2007 - No. 251

Art. 8 law decree 28 January 2008 - No. 25

In terms of international protection, in the event that the applicant claims that the infibulation of his minor daughter was carried out in the country of origin, the exercise of the power and duty of preliminary cooperation cannot be limited to verifying that the use of this practice is mandatory at a legal or religious level, since it cannot be considered decisive in itself, where it is largely imposed by a mandatory social custom in that country. The investigative power-duty delegated to the judges of merit must, therefore, be exercised by acquiring accurate and updated information also on the mandatory social customs in the country of origin and provided by the international bodies that deal with the monitoring of the practice of infibulation, in order to effectively fight it, in the name of the dignity and health of women.