Italian Constitutional Court, order no. 162/2026, filed 6 October 2026
The Italian Constitutional Court has opened an important constitutional issue concerning the exemption from punishment in Article 649 of the Criminal Code for certain property offences committed against close family members.
The original proceedings concerned abuse of an incapacitated person committed against a spouse. The Turin Court of Appeal had challenged the third paragraph of Article 649 insofar as it does not include the offence under Article 643 among those for which the exemption from punishment is excluded.
The Constitutional Court, however, went beyond the specific question referred to it. In order no. 162/2026 it raised before itself the constitutionality of Article 649 as a whole, with reference to Articles 2, 3 and 29 of the Constitution.
At the heart of the issue is whether the legislative choice to protect family unity to the point of excluding punishment for certain property offences against family members remains constitutionally justified. The Court referred to the evolution of the constitutional concept of the family and to the need to protect the individual rights of its members.
The Court also placed particular emphasis on the evolution of economic relations within families: alongside the traditional idea of a community of interests, the legal system has increasingly recognised the financial autonomy of spouses and civil-union partners.
Defence relevance. The order does not, at this stage, eliminate the exemption in Article 649. It does, however, open constitutional proceedings that could significantly affect the law governing property offences committed within families, potentially including fraud, misappropriation and, in the originating case, abuse of an incapacitated person. The final ruling on the question raised by the Court itself will therefore be important to follow.
