Maternity allowance - Possibility of cumulating the maternity allowance of the self-employed mother with the days off taken by the employed father

Principle of non-discrimination - Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006: “it is also appropriate to make express provision for the protection of the employment rights of women on maternity leave and in particular their right to return to the same or an equivalent post, to suffer no detriment in their terms and conditions as a result of taking such leave and to benefit from any improvement in working conditions to which they would have been entitled during their absence”

Different treatment of women justified on maternity grounds - Prohibition of dismissal on grounds of marriage applies only to the female employee

Same-sex couple – Registration in Italy of a foreign judgment attributing the parenthood to two men

Directive 92/85/EEC, Articles 4, 5 and 7, protection of the safety and health of workers, worker who is breastfeeding, night work, shift work performed in part at night — Risk assessment of her work, prevention measures, challenge by the worker concerned — Discrimination on grounds of sex

Absence of proper institutional oversight over and inadequate regulation of adoption procedures – Decision to separate children from their biological family based on discriminatory justifications regarding their economic situation, gender-based stereotypes about parental responsibilities and their grandmother’s sexual orientation

Verification of the parental relationship between a child born abroad as a result of surrogacy and the “intended parent” – Protection for child’s best interests

Medically assisted heterologous procreation abroad in a married couple - Father's consent to medically assisted heterologous procreation abroad cannot be withdrawn – Rescission of paternity

Ban on adoption of Russian children by US nationals - Violation of Article 14

Directive 92/85/EEC, Article 4(1), Protection of the safety and health of workers — Breastfeeding worker, risk assessment of her work, challenged by the worker concerned — Directive 2006/54/EC, Article 19, equal treatment, discrimination on grounds of sex

Italian Cassazione recognizes stepchild adoption in special cases - Adoption in ‘special cases’ is the legal instrument for the intended parent in same-sex couples - The sexual orientation of the adoptive parent is not relevant

Possibility of weighing, in the specific case, whether it is in the best interests of the minor child to maintain meaningful relations with the biological parent's ex-partner [in particular, following the termination of the homo-affective cohabitation between them]

Legitimate children’s surname - Automatic attribution of the father’s surname even if desired otherwise by the parents [who may so jointly request to give the child also the mother’s surname]

Recognition in Italy of a foreign judgment establishing the child’s adoption by the parent's spouse - Civil partnership between adoptee and biological parent merged in same-sex marriage celebrated abroad

Measures to improve the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding — National law providing for an allowance for ordinary magistrates in respect of expenses which they incur in the performance of their professional functions — No entitlement for an ordinary magistrate to that allowance in the case of compulsory maternity leave taken prior to 1 January 2005

Individual right to parental leave on the grounds of the birth of a child — National legislation denying the right to such leave for a staff member whose wife does not work — Equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation 

Commissioning mother who has had a baby through a surrogacy arrangement – Refusal to grant her maternity leave – Less favourable treatment of a commissioning mother as regards the grant of maternity leave

Commissioning mother who has had a baby through a surrogacy arrangement – Refusal to grant her paid leave equivalent to maternity leave or adoptive leave – Commissioning mother unable to bear a child

Directive 2006/54/EC, equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation – Training course for acquiring the status of a public official – Exclusion on grounds of a prolonged absence, absence attributable to maternity leave

Inability under Turkish law for adoptive mother to have her forename recorded on child’s identity papers in place of the biological mother’s forename - Violation of Article 8 (Positive obligations)