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Codice Civile art. 337-bis — Ambito di applicazione

TL;DR. Italian Codice Civile article 337-bis is the procedural-trigger article for the entire Capo II framework (articles 337-bis through 337-octies) governing custody/contact decisions in the separation, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and unmarried-parent contexts. It is a single-sentence article: "In case of separation, dissolution, cessation of civil effects, annulment, nullity of marriage and in proceedings concerning children born outside marriage, the provisions of this Chapter apply." Every other PA-relevant Italian custody provision — joint-custody-default (337-ter), exclusive custody (337-quater), measures in case of breach (337-quinquies), and the listening of the child (337-octies) — is engaged via the article 337-bis trigger.

Source: brocardi.it canonical — Italian state statute, public domain. · Fetched: 2026-06-13 · Editorial commentary licence: CC BY 4.0

Full statutory text — verbatim Italian

Art. 337-bis — Ambito di applicazione

In caso di separazione, scioglimento, cessazione degli effetti civili, annullamento, nullità del matrimonio e nei procedimenti relativi ai figli nati fuori del matrimonio si applicano le disposizioni del presente capo.

English translation (working — not an official translation)

Article 337-bis — Scope of application

In case of separation, dissolution, cessation of civil effects, annulment, nullity of marriage and in proceedings concerning children born outside marriage, the provisions of this Chapter apply.

Why article 337-bis matters

Article 337-bis is the entry point to the Italian framework governing custody and contact decisions in all family-law contexts where the parents' relationship has terminated or where the child was born outside marriage. It establishes the application of capo II (articles 337-bis through 337-octies) to the following situations:

  • Separation (separazione) — both consensual and judicial (separazione consensuale + separazione giudiziale).
  • Dissolution / cessation of civil effects (scioglimento + cessazione degli effetti civili) — the Italian terminology for divorce (the former for civil marriages, the latter for religious marriages dissolved civilly).
  • Annulment / nullity of marriage (annullamento + nullità del matrimonio) — judicial findings that the marriage was either voidable (annullamento) or never legally constituted (nullità).
  • Proceedings concerning children born outside marriage (procedimenti relativi ai figli nati fuori del matrimonio) — substantively equalised by the 2012 Riforma Filiazione (D.Lgs. 154/2013); the article 337-bis trigger ensures uniform application of capo II provisions regardless of marital status of the parents.

The substantive provisions engaged via the 337-bis trigger are:

  • Art. 337-ter — Provvedimenti riguardo ai figli (the joint-custody-default + bigenitoriality + non-compliance modification trigger statute);
  • Art. 337-quater — Affidamento ad un solo genitore (the exclusive-custody residual exception);
  • Art. 337-quinquies — Revisione delle disposizioni concernenti l'affidamento dei figli (revision-of-arrangements provision);
  • Art. 337-sexies — Assegnazione della casa familiare (allocation of the family home);
  • Art. 337-septies — Disposizioni in favore dei figli maggiorenni (provisions for adult children);
  • Art. 337-octies — Poteri del giudice e ascolto del minore (court powers + child hearing — the mandatory listening of the minor aged 12+ or younger if capable of discernment).

The procedural rule that all of these apply uniformly via the 337-bis trigger is operationally important — it eliminates substantive distinctions between marital and non-marital parental conflict for purposes of the custody-and-contact analysis.

Cross-references within the AntiAlienate Knowledge Base

Primary source

  • brocardi.it canonical: https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-primo/titolo-ix/capo-ii/art337bis.html
  • Statute citation: Codice Civile italiano, art. 337-bis
  • Codification history: Article inserted by art. 55 of D.Lgs. 28 December 2013 n. 154 (the implementing decree of the 2012 Riforma Filiazione equalising the legal status of children born in and out of marriage).
  • Status: Italian state statute — public-domain text.

Sources & authoritative references

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