Law 4800/2021 introduces substantial changes to family law, establishing as a general rule the joint custody of children by both parents, even after the dissolution of the marriage or the cessation of cohabitation. It is made clear that, in principle, both parents are regarded as suitable for raising the child, while the child has a right to maintain a meaningful relationship with both.
The award of sole custody is now an exceptional solution, applied only where serious grounds exist – such as incidents of abuse, mental instability or complete indifference on the part of one parent – or where joint custody is objectively impossible (for example, where the child relocates).
Lack of cooperation between parents is not, in itself, sufficient to preclude joint custody. On the contrary, case-law underlines that cooperation – even minimal – is necessary and beneficial for the child. Any conflicts can be resolved through the courts (Article 1512 of the Civil Code), and joint exercise of custody can be excluded only in cases of intense, chronic conflict that harms the child.
For important matters affecting the child’s future – such as name, religion, education and serious health decisions – the joint consent of both parents is required, even where custody is exceptionally exercised by one parent, since these matters are considered to lie at the core of parental responsibility.
At the same time, the right of contact between the child and the parent with whom the child does not reside is strengthened, becoming a corresponding duty of the resident parent to facilitate the contact; a presumption of minimum contact time is established, corresponding to at least one third of the total time, while exclusion or restriction of contact is permitted only on particularly serious grounds.
In conclusion, the new law seeks to preserve the parental presence of both parents in the child’s life, aiming at the child’s emotional stability and healthy psychosocial development.