Italian Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione), Civil Section I, No. 18174/2010, 2 July 2008

The bond resulting from the application of the kafala institute is to be considered suitable as a prerequisite for family reunification. 

Legislative Decree n. 286 of 1998, art. 29 

1. In family reunification, where the need for the protection of minors is at stake on the one hand and the democratic protection of the borders of the State on the other, the protection of the minor must be considered prevalent, also in relation to the foreign minor, compared to those of defense of the territory and containment of immigration. Therefore, only that interpretation of the ordinary rule that achieves a fair balancing of these superior interests must be considered adequate, also in light of the scale of values ​​presupposed by the Constituent Assembly.

2. A prejudicial exclusion claimed by the Administration of the requirement for family reunification for minors entrusted in kafala, would penalise all minors from Arab countries, illegitimate, orphaned or in a state of abandonment, for whom kafala is the only instrument of protection. This instrument, therefore, must be considered suitable as a prerequisite for family reunification and give entitlement to the same, in accordance with Article 29(2) of Legislative Decree no. 286 of 25 July 1998.