Italian Supreme Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione), Civil Section I, N. 19450/2011, 23 September 2011

Inapplicability of the legislation for family reunification on the basis of a kafala provision.

Law of 4 May 1983, n. 184 which governs the adoption and custody of minors. 
 

The foreign kafala provision is recognized by the Italian legal system as a custody, for the purposes of family reunification of foreign minors in a state of abandonment to foreign citizens, with respect to those systems that do not provide for adoption. This recognition cannot take place with regard to Italian citizens, as the application of the international adoption regime to them is mandatory as provided for by art. 36, law n. 184/1983. Therefore, the application for family reunification (requested through kafala), aimed at guaranteeing Italian citizens the inclusion in their own family of a foreign minor in a state of abandonment, cannot be subject to the rules envisaged for reunification, nor for automatic recognition. of foreign measures.