Italy’s Constitutional Court allows singles to adopt foreign minors, ending 40-year ban

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Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled on Friday (March 21, 2025) that unmarried people can adopt foreign minors, ending a 40-year-ban on the practice and setting a precedent that could pave the way to allowing Italian singles to adopt from within the country.

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Friday’s court ruling declared unconstitutional the exclusion of singles from international adoptions under a 1983 Italian law, which allowed only married couples to pursue international adoptions.

According to Italy’s top court, the exclusion of single people risked undermining “the effectiveness of the child’s right to grow up in a stable and harmonious family environment.”

The court decision also reflects concerns among adoption advocates over a downward trend in Italy’s international adoption over the past few years, due to increasing difficulties for couples in completing adoptions abroad and the high costs related to the lengthy process.

According to Italy’s international adoption commission, in the first semester of 2024 international adoption in the country fell by 5.6% from the same period a year before and by 14.3% from the first semester of 2022.

Italy’s right-wing government headed by Premier Giorgia Meloni has opposed singles’ adoptions in court, but the country’s centre-left opposition hailed Friday’s ruling as a “historic turning point.”

“It puts the rights of minors and the freedom of self-determination of every individual first,” said Democratic Party’s lawmaker Alessandro Zan, who has promoted battles for the parenting rights of singles and gay couples.

“Now the Italian parliament must intervene, adapt the current legislation and remove every ideological obstacle,” Zan added. “And let’s go further: This right must also be extended to gay couples.” The ruling takes effect immediately.