CIRCONCISIONE RITUALE DEI MINORI E ORDINAMENTO GIURIDICO ITALIANO

The research concerns the juridical problems connected to the practice of male ritual circumcision performed on children. In a European context where there aren’t shared normative references, the most important problems emerge where there are overlapping ethical-cultural systems in the same geographical context. The research assesses the legitimacy of ritual circumcisions within the Italian legal system. These practices, variously classified, can constitute an instrument of demarcation of the person and of identifying the single with the "group"; this is what occurs, for example, in two great monotheistic religions: Judaism and Islam. Religiously motivated circumcisions practiced on children are the subject of the research, which focuses on the main legal questions concerning the right to religious freedom and the right to physical integrity. After investigating the issues relating to the entitlement of the right to religious freedom of children and the limits about parents' religious education, the research analyzes the path that led to the current legal configuration of the phenomenon. A chronological criterion is followed. Finally, the research examines the practical transposition of the detected problems; the study finds that legal issues resulted in regional health choices and it analyzes the conflict resolution mechanisms.