Adoption of a minor: the judge must ascertain the concrete irrecoverability of parental capacities – Cassation no. 12330/2025

With order no. 12330 of 9 May 2025, the Court of Cassation – Civil Section I clarifies the stringent criteria for declaring the adoptability of a minor. The ruling reiterates that the judgement of the merits must be based on a concrete and current analysis of the family conditions, avoiding abstract or generalized evaluations.

The principle of the minor's permanence in the family of origin

According to art. 1 of Law no. 184/1983, the minor has the priority right to grow up in his or her family of origin, even extended to relatives within the fourth degree. Adoption is an exceptional measure and can be arranged only after the verification of moral and material abandonment by the parents and relatives who could have taken care of him or her.

The Court emphasizes that such determination must be based on serious, certain and current factual elements, not on summary assessments or mere presumptions of parental incapacity.

The prognostic assessment: the possibility of recovery is at the centre

The heart of the decision of the Court of Cassation is in the reference to the prognostic judgment that the judge of merit is called to carry out: it is necessary to verify whether or not there are concrete possibilities of recovery of parental skills, also through the help of social services and taking into account the socio-cultural context of the family.

The concept of “irreversible non-recoverability” must be rigorously ascertained: adoption cannot be authorised if there is real scope for a family rehabilitation process.

What it means for the families involved

This ruling is particularly relevant for proceedings in which parental responsibility is assessed. The intervention of social services, parenting support programs, and the involvement of the extended family can play a decisive role in demonstrating that the situation is not irremediably compromised.

For this reason, each phase of the procedure must be addressed with clear documentation, concrete elements and a multidisciplinary evaluation of the parental skills and the emotional context of the minor.

Conclusions

Ordinance no. 12330/2025 reaffirms a fundamental principle of child protection: adoption is a residual remedy, applicable only when every attempt at family recovery proves futile and no longer sustainable over time.

The evaluation of adoptability cannot be based on impressions or presumptions, but must emerge from a thorough investigation, respectful of the rights of the minor and his family and cultural identity.