Family court towards revision

The extension to October 2026 for the new single court for persons, minors and families arrives. But the perspective is that of an overall revision of the system outlined by the Cartabia reform of 2022 (legislative decree 149).

The debut of the new judicial office, which is supposed to deal with all family and juvenile proceedings by deleting, in parallel, the juvenile court, was originally scheduled for 17 October 2024, two years after the publication of the Cartabia reform in the Official Gazette. A timeframe in which the revision of the staffing plan and other organisational measures necessary to get the single court up and running were to be carried out; it was envisaged that it would be established in each court of appeal or branch office and that it would be divided into a district section and one or more district sections.

Last year, the Prisons Decree (92/2024) already postponed the deadline for entry into force by one year, to October 2025. And now the Justice Decree-Law (117/2025) provides for a postponement by another year, to October 2026.

An extension 'was announced, because several knots remained to be unravelled', observes the president of the association of juvenile and family magistrates (Aimmf), Claudio Cottatellucci. 'After last year's postponement,' he explains, 'it would have been necessary to act in a targeted manner to resolve the problematic situations, analysing the data and allocating the necessary resources. The new single rite for family proceedings, introduced by the reform and in force from 2023, has in fact changed the work in the judicial offices: the new urgent procedures have absorbed a lot of resources, to the detriment of the other civil proceedings, which have slowed down. Reinforcements are needed, but the financial invariance provided by the reform is an obstacle. The digitisation of the juvenile courts is also incomplete: the system has not been 'customised' to the work of these offices and does not allow the exchange of files with the ordinary courts. These are all elements that must be taken into account for the future'.

However, the scenario could change. In recent weeks, the Ministerial Commission for the Study of the Court for Persons, Minors and Families announced, along with the postponement of the debut of the new judicial office, which was launched with the Justice Decree-Law, also the intention to carry out a radical revision of the reform, which should be entrusted to a bill.