Children’s Adoption in ECtHR Case Law: Opportunities or Threats for Italy?

The European Court of Human Rights' case law on children’s adoption has been calling for a rethink of well-established domestic principles and practices in Italy. For instance, Strasbourg decisions were instrumental in getting Italian courts to acknowledge that the adoptee's right to private and family life may require access to his or her birth record and adoption file and, sometimes, even contact with the family of origin after adoption. Other challenges launched by the European Court, thus far not fully addressed by Italian social services, concern the need for specific support for migrant parents and the necessity to consider their socio-cultural background when assessing parental skills. Still, the Court's tightening of the grounds for adoptability and its favour for simple adoption over full adoption result in an emphasis on blood ties and parental rights. There is a danger of disqualifying adoption where serious neglect put children’s development at risk. In addition, this trend could create ambiguous situations where the family of origin is unsuitable to raise the child but could interfere in the adoptive family’s life. A disenchanted approach to the European Court of Human Rights’ case law therefore seems to be necessary.