Explained: Why kids in Italy have the legal right not to see their grandparents

The bond between children and grandparents is considered to be a precious one. Grandparents adore their grandchildren, often babysitting them until their parents return from work.

However, Italy’s Supreme Court has ruled out that children should not have to spend time with their Granny and Grandpa if they don’t want to.

The ruling was based on a case in which a grandmother and grandfather insisted on seeing their two grandchildren despite having a strained relationship with the children’s parents.

Let us understand Italian Supreme Court’s ruling.

Also read: Age Matters: Why Italy is the West’s fastest-shrinking nation

The case

The grandparents and a paternal uncle persisted in seeing their two grandchildren despite a contentious relationship with the children’s parents, which precipitated the years-long case.

Their argument was accepted by a Milan court and confirmed on appeal by a higher court in 2019, allowing social worker-supervised meetings between the children and grandparents in spite of the parent’s objection, according to The Guardian.

It also warned the parents of the potential psychological damage to the children by depriving them of seeing their relatives.

The parents contended that the meetings were not appreciated by the children due to continued family difficulties, so they petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.

Decision overturned

According to the Telegraph, the country’s highest court declared that children are under no obligation to see their grandparents and cannot be coerced to do so.

The report suggests that the top court in Rome stated that children, especially if they are over the age of 12 and “capable of discernment,” should not be compelled to hang out with grandparents against their will.

The court stipulated the kids had to spend time with their paternal grandparents after the elderly couple complained the children’s parents had “established obstacles” preventing them from maintaining contact amid an ongoing family quarrel, reported Dailymail.

As per the report, it admitted that while there is “no doubt” that the two kids would “benefit from a bond with the articulated line of generations,” the children themselves expressed displeasure with being pressured to see their grandparents given their fragmented relationship.

The court determined that in situations involving an “unwelcome and unwanted relationship,” the interests of the children should take precedence over those of the grandparents. It added that children above the age of 12 are capable of determining whether they wish to keep contact with their grandparents and cannot be coerced to do so.

What does the law say?

A 2006 law gives grandparents in Italy who are barred from seeing their grandchildren by the children’s parents the right to ask a court to investigate whether such limitations are harmful to the child’s well-being, reported the NYBreaking website.

If the court believes that the children’s well-being has been compromised, it might order the parents to enable their children to visit their grandparents on a regular basis in the presence of social workers.

The rule was enacted to ensure that kids whose parents had divorced or otherwise separated might still keep contact with their ancestors if one or both parents refused to allow them to see grandparents from the other side of the family.

According to the report, the same was confirmed by a similar provision in Italy’s civil code. However, the Court of Cessation in 2018 ruled that grandparents did not have an “unconditional right” to see their grandchildren.

Since then, such cases are examined by a judge based on the “exclusive interests of the minor.”

With inputs from agencies

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