Public order and religious family rights. Sustainability and limits of an evolving legal relationship
Abstract
The public-order clause, which safeguards the fundamental principles of the legal order, is today tested by the circulation of family models rooted in religious legal systems. Ilaria Valenzi analyses the way Italian and European courts modulate this clause when confronted with the institutions of Islamic family law.
Examining the most recent rulings on repudiation (ṭalāq), kafāla and polygamy, she traces a shift from a defensive use of public order towards a more nuanced, pragmatic reading, one that seeks to preserve both individual legal certainty and the principles of equality, dignity and gender parity.
This study by Ilaria Valenzi appeared in the journal Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale (no. 4, 2025, pp. 62-115) and is available in open access.
Résumé
La clause d’ordre public, qui protège les principes fondamentaux de l’ordre juridique, se trouve aujourd’hui mise à l’épreuve par la circulation des modèles familiaux issus des ordres religieux. Ilaria Valenzi analyse la manière dont le juge italien et européen module cette clause face aux institutions du droit familial islamique.
À travers l’examen des décisions les plus récentes sur la répudiation (ṭalāq), la kafala et la polygamie, l’autrice met en évidence le passage d’un usage défensif de l’ordre public à une interprétation plus nuancée et pragmatique, soucieuse de préserver à la fois la sécurité juridique des personnes et les principes d’égalité, de dignité et de parité entre les sexes.
Cette étude d’Ilaria Valenzi est parue dans la revue Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale (n° 4, 2025, p. 62-115) et est disponible en libre accès.
ملخّص
إنّ شرط النظام العامّ، الذي يصون المبادئ الأساسية للنظام القانوني، يواجه اليوم اختباراً حقيقياً مع انتقال النماذج الأسرية المتحدّرة من الأنظمة الدينية. وتحلّل إيلاريا فالنزي الكيفية التي يعدّل بها القضاء الإيطالي والأوروبي هذا الشرط في مواجهة مؤسّسات قانون الأسرة الإسلامي.
فمن خلال دراسة أحدث الأحكام القضائية في الطلاق والكفالة وتعدّد الزوجات، تُبيّن المؤلّفة انتقالاً من استعمالٍ دفاعيّ للنظام العامّ إلى تأويلٍ أكثر مرونةً وواقعية، يحرص على صون اليقين القانوني للأفراد ومبادئ المساواة والكرامة والتكافؤ بين الجنسين في آنٍ واحد.
نُشرت هذه الدراسة لـإيلاريا فالنزي في العدد الرابع (2025) من المجلّة التالية، وهي متاحة بالوصول الحرّ:
Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, pp. 62-115.
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