Recognition of civil unions came to the top of the legislative agenda in Italy after the European Court of Human Rights held in Oliari and Others v. Italy in July 2015 that failure to recognize same-sex couple relationships violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
Voting and debate did not go smoothly, however, with particular controversy over allowing gay couples to adopt a child when one partner is the biological parent. See Jim Yardley, "Italy Divided Over Effort to Legalize Civil Unions for Gays" (N.Y. Times, Jan. 24, 2016); and Elisabetta Povoledo, "Italian Lawmakers’ Vote on Same-Sex Civil Unions Stalls" (N.Y. Times, Feb. 16, 2016). As finally enacted, the bill did not include the adoption provisions. See Gaia Pianigiani, "Italian Senate Approves Civil Unions for Gay Couples, but Not Adoptions" (N.Y. Times, Feb. 25, 2016).