Italian Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione italiana), Civil Section I, No. 8369/2025, 30 March 2025

The Italian Court of Cassation has examined once again the issue of assigning a child the mother’s surname, in light of Constitutional Court judgment No. 131/2022. It held that, in the event of disagreement between parents exercising parental responsibility, the applications to change a minor’s surname fall within the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, which are required to assess the interest of the child.

Art. 262 Italian Civil Code
 

Art. 316 Italian Civil Code
 

Art. 337-ter Italian Civil Code

1. An application to change a child’s surname, in the event of disagreement between parents exercising parental responsibility, falls within the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts pursuant to Articles 316(2) and (3) and 337-ter(3) of the Italian Civil Code. 

2. When considering such an application, the judge must assess the child’s genuine interest and, if the request is found to be well-founded and aligned with that interest, is required to grant specific representation to one of the parents to submit the application to the Prefect for the surname modification.