Abstract

The regulation of surname attribution to children offers a particularly interesting field of investigation with respect to the reconstruction of the overall relationship between the Italian Constitutional Court and the legislator. By recalling the Court’s numerous judgements in this matter, it is possible to dwell both on the content of the regulation (i.e., the recognition of the equality of parents vis-à-vis their children and their right to identity, taking into account the implications of the development of social conscience) and on the procedural profiles (which more strictly highlight on the relationship between constitutional judgment and the legislator’s discretionary power).