With the gradual and increasing recognition of child rights and child protection, a mean for public, judicial and
administrative controls has also been provided for in the parent-child relationship. The principle of the
agreement is weakened by measures that are not always requested or agreed upon. Situations of weakness,
even within the family, cannot be left to the discretion of the individual. However, if external intervention
should be called for, this cannot fall outside of the agreement, which is an expression of the family’s freedom.
With particular reference to the parent-child relationship and parental responsibility, when parent’s consent is
missing, a court hearing may (or must) be requested by the relatives concerned, the social services or the
public prosecutor. In this case the legislator will perform checks provided for in articles 330 ss. Civil Code.
Recent reforms (those regarding filiation, assisted negotiation, and custody) call for a review of the positions of
the members of the family household. For this purpose, it is certainly useful to compare experiences that are
closer to the Italian situation and, in particular, with those in Spain and Portugal.
