Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, Criminal Section VI, No. 22700/2009, 28 Jennuary 2009

Relevance of cultural factors as a justification for crimes against family members.

Art. 29 Italian Constitution
Art. 572 Italian criminal code

The principle of the mandatory nature of criminal law excludes that the criminal law can be waived in the absence of an express provision of domestic public law or international law and implies that the ethical-social traditions of those who are present in the territory of the State, although of undisputed cultural value, can only be practiced outside the scope of operation of the criminal law. The principle assumes particular moral and social value when the criminal protection concerns matters of constitutional significance, such as the family, which the Italian Constitution recognizes as a natural society, based on the moral and legal equality of the spouses (Article 29 of the Constitution).