** Italian Court Rules Exclusion of Same-Sex Mothers from Paternity Leave Unconstitutional

** Italy’s Constitutional Court has declared Article 27-bis of Legislative Decree 151/2001 partially unconstitutional for denying mandatory paternity leave to a female worker who is a recognized “intentional parent” in a same-sex couple. The ruling (Sentence No. 115), filed today, addresses a case raised by the Court of Appeal of Brescia, which deemed the provision discriminatory. The contested law had granted only fathers—not the non-birth “second mother” in a female couple—the right to 10 days of fully paid paternity leave, despite both partners being registered as legal parents in Italy’s civil records. The court found this exclusion violated constitutional principles.