"Italian Court Recognizes Three Legal Parents—a 4-Year-Old Granted Status With Both Fathers and Birth Mother"

Bari Court of Appeals Recognizes Validity of German Adoption

Biological Father, Birth Mother, and Spouse All Granted Parental Status

A Highly Unusual Case under Italian Family Law

An Italian court has recognized three legal parents for a 4-year-old child born in Germany: the biological father, his male spouse, and the birth mother. Although local authorities refused to recognize the adoption, citing the possibility of surrogacy abroad, the court overturned this decision, stating that "there was no surrogacy agreement."

On May 12, international media outlets including The Independent reported that an Italian court had recognized three legal parents for a 4-year-old child.

This case, in which the biological father, his male spouse, and the birth mother were all granted parental status, is considered highly unusual under Italy's conservative family law. Previously, in January, the Bari Court of Appeals in southern Italy ruled that the adoption of a 4-year-old child born in Germany should also be recognized in Italy. This ruling has been finalized and was recently made public to mark the 10th anniversary of the Civil Union Act, which recognized the legal union of same-sex couples in Italy.

The child has been living in Germany with two married men. One of them is the child's biological father, who had the child with a female friend of the couple. Subsequently, the partner of the biological father, an Italian-German man, adopted the child under German law. However, when this man applied for the adoption to be recognized in Italy, the local authorities refused. It is reported that the authorities suspected the child may have been born through surrogacy abroad.

The Bari Court of Appeals overturned this decision. The court determined that there was no surrogacy agreement in this family. Therefore, it concluded that the adoption established in Germany should also be recognized in Italy. As a result, the child now has three legal parents in Italy: the biological father, his spouse, and the birth mother. Pasqua Manfredi, the lawyer representing the family, told Reuters, "There was no secret surrogacy contract," and added, "All three individuals wanted to be the child's parents, and the court recognized this."

This ruling comes as Italy continues to take a hardline stance on surrogacy. Since 2004, surrogacy has been banned domestically, and in 2024, the law was expanded to penalize Italian citizens who use surrogacy services abroad. Violators may face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million euros.

As a result, the main issue in this case centered on whether surrogacy had occurred. Local authorities blocked recognition of the adoption due to the possibility of surrogacy abroad, but the court accepted that there was no actual surrogacy agreement. The core of the ruling is interpreted to be less about recognizing the general parental status of same-sex couples, and more about whether Italy could recognize an already established family relationship and the child's legal stability formed in Germany.

However, controversy over the ruling is growing. The Catholic conservative group Pro Vita & Famiglia argued that the legal recognition of same-sex unions "overturns family law and exposes minors to social and ideological experimentation." On the other hand, LGBTQ+ rights organizations and progressives evaluated the ruling as prioritizing the child's rights and legal stability within diverse family structures. In Italy, the Constitutional Court ruled last year that in the case of female same-sex couples, a non-biological mother can also be registered as a parent on a birth certificate, indicating that judicial decisions regarding the legal status of same-sex parents are ongoing.

Meanwhile, Italy recognized the legal union of same-sex couples through the Civil Union Act of 2016, but same-sex marriage is still not permitted. Additionally, regulations and court rulings regarding adoption, birth registration, and surrogacy vary, leaving the legal status of LGBTQ+ families at the center of ongoing political and social debates. Although this Bari Court of Appeals ruling concerns an individual child's family relationship, it is expected to reignite discussion in Italian society over the legal definition of "parent" and the extent to which nontraditional family forms should be recognized.