ITALY'S 2021 FAMILY LAW REFORM: A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO HARNESS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR THE BENEFIT OF MINORS

The following paper assesses the recent reform of Italian family law, provided for by Law No. 206 of November 26, 2021, which will come into force on December 31, 2024. In addition to establishing a unified family court, competent for all matters relating to children, separation, divorce and protection of the weak, the legislator has drastically changed the rules of civil procedure, in order to facilitate the management of family litigation and to encourage effective collaboration between the parties and their lawyers. Through the filter of comparative private law, the objectives, timing and tools of the Italian reform are compared with the different solutions adopted abroad in the field of family law, and in particular with predictive and analytical artificial intelligence systems already used in common law, which have proved especially suitable to solve recurring and numerically assessable issues as the determination of the amount of alimony owed to the former spouse, the quantification of child support, the definition of the calendar of visits, the division of property and assets at the time of family breakup.