9 THE ITALIAN LAW JOURNAL NO. 2 (2023)
Something New on the Eastern Front.
by Ester di Napoli This article offers a critical assessment of a judgment by the Italian Supreme Court in 2023 (judgment no 17603 of 13 June 2023), concerning the recognition of a measure by which the Ukrainian Consulate in Italy appointed a woman as guardian of several Ukrainian children who had fled the war. The judgment is interesting for two reasons. First, it deals with the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children of 19 October 1996, with which Italian courts appear to have little familiarity with, despite the fact that Italy has been a party to the Convention since 1 January 2016. Secondly, the judgment addresses an issue that is rarely examined by courts and scholars, namely the role of consular authorities in the application of the Convention. Both the Supreme Court’s reasoning in the judgment and its conclusions are unconvincing. The judgment refers to several legal texts, but fails to provide adequate guidance on their interaction and coordination. In addition, the Court relies on various Private International Law mechanisms in its reasoning, but does not seem to be fully aware of the specificities of each technique and of the issues raised by their combined operation. The Supreme Court’s approach, it is argued, hardly contributes to ensure the proper interpretation of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children. DOI 10.23815/2421-2156.ITALJ ISSN 2421-2156
The Application of the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention in Italy to Children Fleeing the Russian-Ukrainian War
