ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Carlo Rimini and Rebecca Andrello, Studio dell’avv. prof. Carlo Rimini
there is extensive conflict between the parents, a curator of the minor can be appointed. In deciding according to the best interest of the child, children over 12 years old (or less than 12 years of age if they are capable of understand - ing) have the right to be heard in all matters and judicial proceedings that concern their interests, and their opinions must be taken into considera - tion by the judge when making the decision (in any case, the judge may depart from them if the children’s views do not correspond to their best interests). In hearing the minors, the judge can be assisted by experts (ie, psychologists). Parental Alienation In the case of parental alienation (ie, the attitudes of one parent aim to distance the child from the other parent), the judge must investigate the concrete behaviours of the alienating parent and must make the consequent decisions in matters of parental responsibility with the aim of prevent - ing such behaviours. The Italian Supreme Court has stated that the judge cannot ground any decision on the vague statement that the child suffers from Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS): every single behaviour held by the alienating par - ent needs to be proved.
Sometimes, the judge states that the social ser - vices must take charge of the family and moni - tor the situation. According to Italian law, some sanctions (warning, payment of a sum, com - pensation for damages) can be imposed on the alienating parent (although in practice sanctions have a very limited application). 3.4 ADR See 2.9 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) . 3.5 Media Access and Transparency The media and the press are able to report on family law matters, but the names of the parties should be anonymised to protect their right to privacy. Children’s cases are very sensitive, so more attention is paid to anonymisation in such cases than in others.
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