Guardianship is an institution born to protect those who, due to infirmity or physical/mental impairment, find themselves, even if partially or temporarily, unable to provide for their own interests. These individuals are provided with flexible measures of protection which are adaptable in time to several needs, allowing protection without totally removing the beneficiary power to act.

The legal guardian is appointed by the Tutelary Judge and is preferably chosen within the family of the assisted following several eligibility requirements decided by the Judge himself.

The legal guardian can be chosen among: the spouse or the stable cohabitant, the father, the mother, the child, the brother or the sister and any other relative within the fourth degree of kinship. If this would not be possible, the legal guardian will be appointed by the Tutelary Judge.

Form of protection provided for those who are entirely unable to provide to their own interests due to a lasting mental infirmity. The decision of the Tutelary Judge entails the appointment of a guardian.

Form of protection provided for mentally ill individuals whose conditions is not as severe to justify the implementation of the interdiction, where the appointment of a guardian would not be sufficient. The decision of the Tutelary Judge entails the appointment of a curator.

Any citizen who intends to change or modify their name and last name must be authorized by the local Home Office (Prefettura). These requests are of an exceptional nature and are accepted only in case of objectively relevant situations supported by appropriate documentation and significant reasons. Applications can be submitted only by Italian citizens.

In no case can a surname be changed to one of historical importance or that it can mislead to one’s belonging to illustrious or well-known families in the area where the birth certificate is registered or in their place of residence.

The local Prefect (Prefetto) is the competent body that will authorize the name and last name change.

Those who want to change sex and gender or transgender people, after following a path of gender affirmation, can put forward their request at the competent Court in order to obtain the authorization for sex reassignment and name change.

During trial, it is possible to request the authorization for sex reassignment surgery and the rectification of both name and gender, or only of the latter. It is also possible that the transgender individual does not wish to change their sexual characteristics through surgical procedure. In this case, if the person does not wish, want or can undergo surgery, they can require simply to change name and gender in records.

The Law provides that if someone causes undue damage to someone else, they are required to compensate them. The compensable damage can be distinguished between patrimonial damages and non-patrimonial damages. Among the non-patrimonial damages we find damage to health, also known as biological damage.