Rights

From the survivor's pension to adoptions: the knots still open on the Cirinnà law

Ten years after the law on civil unions came into force, a Constitutional Court ruling reignites the debate on the rights of gay couples

by Letizia Giostra

29 May 2026

Famiglia arcobaleno, omogenitorialità (Imagoeconomica)

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The story
The judgment
10 years since the law
Egalitarian marriage

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A ruling by the Constitutional Court rewrites social security contributions for same-sex couples. This is a new issue, little covered by public debate but also by the jurisprudence of merit and legitimacy. An issue that, however, affects the daily lives of gay couples united by the bond of de facto solidarity like a boulder. The supreme court's pronouncement adds another step in the laborious construction of a legal framework that makes civil unions increasingly similar to equality marriages.

The story

What happens when one partner dies and the other would like to have access to his pension? This is what happened to the gay couple protagonist of this judicial affair. After the death of his spouse, the surviving spouse knocked on the doors of the National Social Security Institute (INPS). The request was to receive his survivor's pension, as it had been denied to him. The question had been raised by the Court of Cassation, civil united sections, with reference to Articles 2, 36 and 38, paragraphs 2 and 3.

With the sentence no. 91, the Constitutional Court thus broadened the protection of social security contributions in favour of the surviving partner of a same-sex couple married abroad, recognising an inequality of treatment in the previous legislation.

The Judgment

Theconstitutional illegitimacy resides in Article 13 of Royal Decree-Law no. 636 of 14 April 1939, "in the part that does not allow the award of a survivor's pension in favour of the surviving partner of a homosexual couple bound by a marriage contracted abroad in the event of the death of the other partner. 636 of 14 April 1939, "in the part in which it does not allow the attribution of a surviving pension in favour of the surviving partner of a homosexual couple bound by a marriage bond contracted abroad in the event of the death of the other member of the couple which occurred before the entry into force of Law no. 76 of 20 May 2016". For the Consulta, "there is no requirement at the constitutional level to equate homoaffective unions with marriage".

The legislature also recognised the effects of civil unions on same-sex marriages celebrated abroad, putting the spouse and the civilly united on an equal footing for pension purposes. We are speaking of "additive" decisions, since the Constitutional Court uses the expression "in the part in which it does not provide for". The rule therefore lacks elements that it should have and this is where the so-called 'obligatory rhyming laws' come in.

A ruling that therefore points the finger at pension differences, but not only: it is another step towards equality between civil unions and egalitarian marriages. The other knots to be unravelled concern issues such as, for instance, that of adoptions. After the sunset of the hypothesis on the stepchild adoption, no other proposals for rainbow families have been put forward.

10 years since the law

But the path of rights for same-sex couples goes back a long way. It was 21 May 2016 when theCirinnà law guaranteeing civil unions for same-sex couples in Italy was published in the Official Gazette. The law had been finally approved at the Camera ten days earlier with 372 votes in favour, 51 against and 89 abstentions. In government was Matteo Renzi, when he was not yet the leader of Italia Viva, but of the PD. And it was a Dem senator, Monica Cirinnà, who brought this law forward.

Since the reform came into force, more than 20,000 civil unions have been celebrated. The latest figure is from 2024 and records 2,936 civil unions between same-sex couples in the civil status offices of Italian municipalities. Unions between men predominate (1,608 unions, 54.8% of the total). One third of civil unions are formalised in the North-West, more than a quarter in the Centre. Among the regions, Lombardy leads the way with 21.3%. This is followed by Latium with 13.2% and Emilia-Romagna with 9.5%.

Egalitarian marriage

Many are looking there: at total equality between heterosexual and homosexual couples. In other words, marriage with full rights without exclusions, which, however, is still political battleground between the parties. It is therefore not surprising that Italia has taken no further steps on the subject. Italia has taken no further steps on the subject. In fact, there is still no talk of egalitarian marriage, which is, however, possible in 16 other EU countries: it was April 2001 when the Netherlands instituted same-sex marriages, while the last to do so was Greece two years ago. Each country then recorded different numbers. In Spain, for instance, same-sex couples can marry since 2005, and in 10 years more than 31 thousand marriages have been registered.

But what happens when a homosexual couple decides to marry in a country where egalitarian marriage is possible? The EU Court of Justice has already censured Poland's refusal to grant rights to a same-sex couple married abroad. A ruling that has set the standard for rights and is destined to remain a milestone in the EU of minorities. For Italia too, but for now only for the one to come.

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