The news reported by the ‘La Repubblica’ newspaper, in relation to which an interview with the ‘Garante per l’infanzia’ [child protection authority] has also been published, according to which the new decree to be examined during today’s Council of Ministers meeting allegedly repeals the presumption of minor age in the event of doubt, is totally unfounded.
In fact, in such cases, the presumption of minor age – art. 19-bis, paragraph 8, of legislative decree no. 142 of 2015 – remains unchanged: the assessment procedure is merely sped up on an exceptional basis should there be particularly large flows, and this is conducted under the supervision of the competent judicial authority. There is therefore no provision to reverse the burden of proof regarding children’s age.
We are astonished to see that false, and actually highly incorrect, news continues to be spread, after yesterday’s item according to which pregnant women’s right to protection would allegedly be eliminated, a right that has instead been extended to all women. We would expect media outlets to carry out accurate checks before releasing news stories.