Don't want to meet grandparents? Don't, Italy court rules in favour of children

Italy’s top court ruled that it is not necessary for children to meet their grandparents if they do not wish to do so. The ruling was made in a case related to an an appeal by the parents of two children against the decision of a lower court which had forced the children to spend time with their grandparents.

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The case was filed by the grandparents and a paternal uncle complaining that they were unable to meet the children “due to the obstacles established by the parents” amid a family conflict.

In the juvenile court and the lower court the grandparents won after which courts had ordered in 2019 that they could meet the children in the presence of a social worker. The courts had then warned that if the children do not see their relatives they may suffer from potential psychological damage.

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Meanwhile, the parents argued that the children should not meet the grandparents owing to family tensions. In its ruling, the top court said that even though there is “no doubt” that the two children would “benefit from a bond with the articulated line of generations”, they could not be forced to see their “ascendants”, especially amid family tensions.

The court also said that the interests of the children must prevail over those of the grandparents and that “an unwelcome and unwanted relationship” cannot be forced.