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Family Law and Society in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era pp 229–255Cite as

Fathers by Law, Fathers by Choice. Paternity and Illegitimacy Between Ancien Régime and Codification in Western Countries

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Part of the book series: Studies in the History of Law and Justice ((SHLJ,volume 5))

Abstract

Paternity as a legal institute is historically marked by an instrinsical ambiguity: its aim is to acknowledge and provide judicial remedies for a natural phenomenon, which however cannot be ascertained and verified through the usual legal procedures. Legislators, therefore, never fail to evoke nature, but then they set off on a path of their own in order to regulate its different legal forms and cases. Moreover, civil law in Italy, in Europe and elsewhere, during the transition from the law system of the ancien régime to modern codifications, is marked by the troubled coexistence of two different and diverse elements: on one hand the tradition of the Roman and Canon law, on the other the model provided by the French revolution and the Napoleonic code. Paternity is thus caged inside the ancient Roman presumption, while bastardy is abandoned to the free will and choice of the parent: given the prohibition to investigate paternity out of wedlock, introduced in the XIX-century codes, he cannot be compelled to take responsibility. The disparity of status between legitimate offspring and bastards would shape family law for a long time.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    There are innumerable studies, both recent and old, dealing with the notion of filiation in ancient and medieval law, and the systems of rules applicable to it. As it is impossible to mention them all, I shall only list an essential bibliography: Loiseau, Jean Simon. 1811. Traité des enfans naturels, adultérine, incestueux et abandonnés. Paris: Antoine; Dalloz, Desiré. 1855. Paternité et filiation. Répertoire méthodique et alphabétique de legislation de doctrine et de jurisprudence en matière de droit civil, commercial, criminel, administratif de droit des gens et de droit public 35, Paris: Au Bureau de la Jurisprudence générale du Royaume, 145 ss.; Leoni, Giuseppe, 1892–98. Filiazione. In Digesto Italiano 11.2. Torino: UTET: 207–301; Marongiu, Antonio, 1958. Adulterini e incestuosi (figli) (diritto intermedio). In Enciclopedia del diritto 1. Milano: Giuffrè: 610–611; Volterra, Edoardo. 1961. Filiazione. Diritto romano. In Novissimo Digesto Italiano 7. Torino: UTET: 308–309; Pecorella, Corrado. 1968. Filiazione (parte storica). In Enciclopedia del diritto 17. Milano: Giuffrè: 449–456; Van de Wiel, Constant. 1992. Les différentes formes de cohabitation hors justes noces et les dénominations diverses des enfants qui en sont nés dans le droit romain, canonique, civil et byzantin jusqu’au XIII siècle. Revue internationale des droits de l’antiquité 39: 327–358; di Renzo Villata, Maria Gigliola. 2001. La famiglia. In Enciclopedia Italiana. Eredità del Novecento, Roma, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana 2: 760–776; Lefebvre-Teillard, Anne. 2008. De la théologie au droit: naissance médiévale du concept de filiation. In Autour de l’enfant. Du droit canonique at romain médieval au Code Civil de 1804. Leiden-Boston: Brill: 149–273; A propose d’une lettre à Guillaume: la filiation légitime dans l’ouvre d’Ives de Chartres: 239–258; L’enfant naturel dans l’ancien droit français: 259–273; Lefebvre–Teillard, Anne. 2007. Approche historique d’un grand concept juridique: la filiation. Sartoriana 20: 109–130, www.sartonchair.ugent.be/file/238.

  2. 2.

    The history of paternity too has been amply investigated by international historiography. On this subject see, for instance: Montani, Paola. 1995. Madri nubili e tribunali. Legislazione e sentenze in età liberale. Italia contemporanea 200: 455–468; Cazzetta, Giovanni. 1999. Praesumitur seducta. Onestà e consenso femminile nella cultura giuridica moderna, Milano: Giuffrè; Conti Odorisio, Ginevra. 2005, Il divieto di ricerca della paternità nello Stato liberale. In Ragione e tradizione. La questione femminile nel pensiero politico. Roma: Aracne: 175–200; Baker, Katharine K. 2004. Bargaining or Biology. The History and Future of Paternity Law and Parental Status. Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 14 iss. 1, art. 1: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cjlpp/vol14/iss1/1; Montesi, Barbara. 2007. Questo figlio a chi lo do?: minori, famiglie, istituzioni (1865–1914). Milano: FrancoAngeli: 97–103; Cavina, Marco. 2007. Il padre spodestato. L’autorità paterna dall’antichità ad oggi. Bari: Laterza; Galeotti, Giulia. 2009. In cerca del padre. Storia dell’identità paterna in età contemporanea. Roma-Bari: Laterza.

  3. 3.

    Already in the Roman Republic, only if there was a legitimate union were the children subjected to the potestas of the paterfamilias and the paternity tie established. Otherwise, the naturales and the spuria acquired the legal status of the mother and were therefore deprived of legal paternity. This system has remained unchanged in medieval and modern law. Cf. Volterra, Edoardo. 1975. Matrimonio (diritto romano). In Enciclopedia del diritto 25. Milano: Giuffrè: 726–807; Gaudemet, Jean. 1987. Le mariage en Occident. Les moeurs et le droit. Paris: ed. Du Cerf; Brundage James A. 1993. Concubinage and Marriage in Medieval Canon Law. In Brundage James A. Sex, Law and Marriage in the Middle Ages (Variorum 397), Aldershot: Variorum; Lefebvre-Teillard, Anne. 2008. “Si mieux n’aime l’épouser”: marriage et relations charnelles hors marriage (France XVIe–XVIIIe s.). In Autour de l’enfant (as n. 1) 31–50; “Pater is est quem nuptiae demostrant”: jalons pour une histoire de la présomption de paternité: 185–197; Bastardy and its comparative history: studies in the history of illegitimacy and marital nonconformism in Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, North America, Jamaica, and Japan, edd. Peter Laslett, Karla Oosterveen, Richard Michael Smith. 1980 Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press; Blaikie, Andrew. 1993. Illegitimacy, Sex, and Society: Northeast Scotland, 1750–1900. Oxford: Clarendon press; Adair, Richard. 1996. Courtship, Illegitimacy and Marriage in early modern England. Manchester and New York: Manchester University press: 78 ss., 129 ss.; Reid, Charles J. 2004. Power over the Body, Equality in the Family: Rights and Domestic Relations in Medieval Canon Law, Grand Rapids, Michigan-Cambridge U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: 69 ss., 153 ss.

  4. 4.

    Jurists are aware of the fact that all distinctions between children derive from the ius civile. For natural law, there are no distinctions. They therefore interpret the rules seeking to decide favor prolis (Pecorella 1968 (as n. 1) 453–454).

  5. 5.

    Cf. for instance Pecorella 1968 (as n. 1) 453–454; Pitzorno, Benvenuto. 1904. La legittimazione nella storia delle istituzioni familiari del Medio Evo. Sassari: Satta; Luchetti, Giovanni. 1990. La legittimazione dei figli naturali nelle fonti tardo imperiali e giustinianee. Milano: Giuffrè; Généstal, Robert. 1905. Histoire de la légitimation des enfants naturels en droit canonique. Paris: E. Leroux; Mayali, Laurent. 1990. Note on the legitimization by subsequent marriage from Alexander III to Innocent III. In The two laws. Studies in medieval legal history dedicated to S. Kuttner. Washington: Catholic University of America Press: 55 ss.; Lefebvre-Teillard, Anne. 2008. Histoire de la légitimation des enfants naturels en droit canonique: observations sur un ouvrage Presque centenaire, in Autour de l’enfant. (as n. 1) 277–286; Tanta est vis matrimonii: remarques sur la légitimation par mariage subséquent de l’enfant adultérin: 287–299; L’effet rétroactif de la légitimation en droit canonique médiéval: 329–341; De la rétroactivité à la fiction. Notes sur la légitimation par mariage subséquent en droit canonique: 359–373.

  6. 6.

    Pecorella 1968 (as n. 1) 453 ss.

  7. 7.

    With regard to this subject, and a bibliographical overview, refer to Santangelo Cordani, Angela. 2003. L’accertamento della paternità tra dottrina e prassi all’indomani del Concilio di Trento: uno sguardo alle decisiones della Rota romana, in Amicitiae Pignus. Studi in ricordo di Adriano Cavanna 3, edd. Antonio Padoa Schioppa, Gigliola di Renzo Villata and Giampaolo Massetto, 1949–1987. Milano: Giuffrè.

  8. 8.

    For instance, Fournel, Jean-François. 1781. Traité de la séduction considérée dans l’ordre judiciaire. Paris: Demonville: 244 ss.; Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 221, with the bibliography cited therein.

  9. 9.

    Dalloz 1855 (as n. 1) 289 ss.

  10. 10.

    Glück, Christian Friedrich. 1790. Ausführliche Erläuterung der Pandekten 1, Erlagen (=1888. Commentario alle Pandette 1. Milano:Vallardi,499); cf. also Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 221.

  11. 11.

    Garaud, Marce and Szramkiewicz, Romuald. 1978. La Révolution française et la famille. Paris: PUF; Lévy, Jean Philippe. 1989. L’évolution du droit familial français de 1789 au Code Napoléon, in La famille, la loi, l’État de la Révolution au code civil. Paris: Centre G. Pompidou: 508 ss.; Cavanna, Adriano. 2005. Storia del diritto moderno in Europa. Le fonti e il pensiero giuridico 2. Milano: Giuffrè: 448–457; Cavanna, Adriano. 2007. Onora il padre. Storia dell’art. 315 cod. civ. (ovvero: il ritorno del flautista di Hamenlin), in Scritti (1968–2002) 2. Napoli: Jovene: 771–832 (804–826); Desan, Suzanne. 2004. The Family on Trial in Revolutionary France. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 178–219, about natural filiation, and 220–248 about paternity.

  12. 12.

    The legal situation in nineteenth-century France is faithfully reconstructed, through the lively mid-century debate on these topics, by Koenigswarter, Louis-Jean. 1842. Essai sur la législation des peuples anciens et modernes relative aux enfants nés hors mariage; suivi de quelques observations d’économie social su le même sujet. Paris: Joubert, Libraire de la Cour de Cassation, who, after a vast analysis of ancient and medieval law, discusses the legislation of many European countries and some American states: 78 ss.; also Accollas, Émile. 1870. Le droit de l’enfant. L’enfant né hors mariage. Paris: Germer Baillière, Libraire-Éditeur, who after an initial historical excursus deals also with the genesis of the Code and harshly criticising Napoleon’s personal thoughts (in particular: 19 ss.). Indeed, the contemptuous statement made by the First Consul on November 17, 1801, much harped upon by historiography, is well-known. Refer for all of these to Cavanna, Adriano. 2007. Mito e destini del code Napoléon in Italia (Riflessioni in margine al Panegirico a Napoleone legislatore di Pietro Giordani), in Scritti (as n. 11) 1079–1129 (1102 ss.). Cf. Code civil des français. Nouvelle Édition stereotype. 1805. Paris: Fantin, Libraire.

  13. 13.

    The entire picture, with precise references to legislation, in Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 78–84. Cf. Código civil sancionado por el Congreso de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela en 1867. Caracas: Imprenta de Josè R. Enriquez; Código civil del imperio mexicano. 1866. Mexico: Imprenta de Andrade y Escalante; The civil code of the State of Louisiana, revised, arranged and amended by the hon. John Ray reviser of the statutes and codes under the supervision of the joint committee of revision. 1869. Monroe LA: Office of the “Louisiana Intelligencer”.

  14. 14.

    In these cases, there was a difference both between the practice of acknowledgement and the rights conferred to these children. Under Italian civil law, say, until the mid–nineteenth century, there were still six categories of children (Cf. Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 207–301). In other countries, such as Austria and Prussia, all natural children were entitled only to alimony. In such cases, there were no specific rules for children born of adultery or incest, because they were clearly superfluous. The various categories were faithfully reproduced by the Code of Lousiana (art. 197–202, renumbered as 178–183 after the 1869 revision). With regard to English law, Cf. Harris, Nicolas. 1836. A treatise on the Law of adulterine bastardy, with a report of the Banbury case and of all other cases bearing upon the subject. London: William Pickering, 1–289; Levene, Alysa, Williams, Samantha and Nutt, Thomas. 2005. Introduction, in Illegitimacy in Britain, 1700–1920, edd. Alysa Levene, Samantha Williams, Thomas Nutt. Bansingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

  15. 15.

    For instance, Cf. the French Civil Code, art. 312; A.B.G.B., §§. 137 and ss. Art. 159 of the 1865 Italian Civil Code does not use the verb ‘to presume’ either, but simply declares that “the husband is the father of the child conceived during marriage” (see Huc, Théophile. 1868. Le code civil italien et le code Napoléon. Études de législation comparée 1. Paris: Cotillon, Libraire du Conseil d’État: 85 ss.). On the contrary, the Code of Louisiana lays down that “The Law considers the husband of the mother as the father of all children conceived during the marriage” (art. 203, renumbered as 184), thereby acknowledging that the presumption is a fictio iuris even if it keeps its full force (see articles 204–211, renumbered as 185–192).

  16. 16.

    For a short review, see Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 224–225.

  17. 17.

    Harris 1836 (as n. 14) 1. The reasons of law policy underlying the rule are also the same as those adopted by French or Italian ministers in their reports about the Codes. The observation was made that, “no man with a slightest power of reflection, can fail to perceive that the law which presumes that the husband is the fatherof a child born of his wife, tends to promote public morals and female chastity; and consequently in an immense majority of cases, to render the de facto, consistent with the de jure paternity” (2).

  18. 18.

    With regard to France, see Lefebvre-Teillard, Anne. 2008. Tanta est vis matrimonii: l’écho français d’une vielle controverse, in Autour de l’enfant (as n. 1) 301–314; with regard to English law, from its medieval origins, Harris 1836 (as n. 14) 5 ss. With regard to Italian law, see Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 291–301. Louisiana followed France closely in its practice (art. 217, renumbered as 198, and ss).

  19. 19.

    According to the Italian Civil Code of 1865, for instance, the legal condition for these children was decidedly more disadvantageous: they could not even look for their mother, having only the right to alimony should paternity or maternity transpire indirectly from a civil or criminal sentence, from an explicit declaration written by the parents or by a marriage declared to be null (art. 193). On this point, Cf. Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 243 and 252 ss. The prohibition to acknowledge was contemplated also by the Code of Louisiana, according to which “such acknowledgment shall not be made in favor of children, whose parents were incapable ofcontracting marriage at the time of conception” (art. 222, renumbered as 204).

  20. 20.

    Carrying on with his analysis, the author adds that “C’est surtout dans les législations qui ont consacré le dernier système, que la position des enfants naturels est nuancée différemment, selon l’ordre dans lequel ils sont appelés parmi les autres héritiers, selon qu’ils succèdent aux père et mère seuls, ou à toute leur ligne, et enfin selon la quote-part héréditaire que la loi leur attribute” (1842 (as n.) 93).

  21. 21.

    Actually, according to Koenigswarter, “toutes les législations permettent aux père et mère de reconnaitre volontairement leurs enfants naturels” (Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 87).

  22. 22.

    It could definitively be impugned if exorted by violence or malice or if it was the consequence of an essential error.

  23. 23.

    This is also the interpretation given by contemporaries to the general principle of the 1865 Italian Civil Code, according to which “the natural child may be acknowledged by the father and the mother both together and separately” (art. 179). Cf. on this matter, Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 243 ss.

  24. 24.

    Thus Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 86–87. The same author examined the legislation of other European and American countries (Cf. 86–87).

  25. 25.

    French Civil Code, art. 334; Italian Civil Code, art. 179 and ss.; Civil Code of the Canton of Ticino, art. 85 (Codice civile della repubblica e Cantone del Ticino. 1837. Bellinzona: Tipografia e Libreria patria); Civil Code of Lousiana, art. 221, renumbered as 203.

  26. 26.

    “with regard to acknowledgement, the law must be benign and allow the minor to acknowledge his natural issue: what harmful consequences could there be for the minor? A bigger responsibility in life? Hasn’t he already undertaken it when he engaged in amorous congress with a lass he made into a mother? Isn’t the provision prohibiting enquiries about paternity already serious enough? Does one need to make it impossible for a beautiful act such as the acknowlegement to happen, simply because the natural father is still a minor?” (Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 244).

  27. 27.

    According to the Italian Code (art. 188), acknowledgement was to be considered null in varied cases: 1. If the acte authentique in which the deed of birth is found turns out to be invalid; 2. If it is false; 3. If it is vitiated by malice, violence or essential error. It could be impugned for lack of truthfulness by the author himself, the child or his/her heir, whoever might have wanted to recognise himself the child, the other parent, and so on.

  28. 28.

    In reality, in France, the right to alimony for natural children was not expressly contemplated by the Code, and was introduced, after some polemics, only by judicial decisions. The Austrian Code attributed to all natural children, as has already been said, only the right to alimony (Mattei, Jacopo. 1852. I paragrafi del codice civile austriaco avvicinati dalle leggi romane, francesi e sarde I. Venezia: co’ tipi di Pietro Naratovich: 502 ss.). See Caberlotto, Enrico. 1893. Alimenti. In Digesto Italiano 2, parte 2: 342–351; Petroni, Giulio. 1877. Il diritto agli alimenti dei figliuoli semplicemente naturali studiato nel codice civile italiano. Il Filangieri 2: 526–544; Quartarone, Melchiorre. 1884. Il diritto agli alimenti e le azioni alimentari secondo il codice civile e il codice di procedura civile: studio teorico-pratico. Torino: F.lliBocca.

  29. 29.

    According to Italian law, tutelage was wider than that of the unrelated tutor and closer to paternal authority: it comprised the obligation of the child to remain in the house given it by the parent (art. 221), the grant to the parent of disciplinary powers (art. 222), the representation and administration of assets (art. 224–225–226), and so on.

  30. 30.

    For instance, art. 187 of the Italian Civil Code of 1865 contemplated that the natural child owed alimony to the parent in the absence of legitimate ascendants or descendants or a spouse. Cf. also the Code of Louisiana, art. 256, renumbered 240.

  31. 31.

    The formulation of the Code of Louisiana is particularly incisive: “Illegitimate children generally speaking, belong to no family, and have no relations; accordingly they are not submitted to the paternal authority, even when they have been legally acknowledged” (art. 254, renumbered as 238); “nevertheless nature and humanity establish certain reciprocal duties between fathers and mothers and their illegitimate children” (art. 255, renumbered as 239).

  32. 32.

    In this case too, the American rule is very clear: “illegitimate children, though duly acknowledged cannot claim the rights of legitimate children” (art. 224, renumbered as 206). In the same way, the Bavarian Code lays down that “succèdent à leur mère à défaut d’enfants légitimes; ils ne succèdent à leur père qu’à défaut de tout parent au degré successible”, while “le Code du canton de Vaud fait succéder l’enfant naturel à la totalité des biens de ses père et mère, si ceux-ci ne laissent aucun parent au degré successible, ni époux survivant (art. 546)” (Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 98). The 1865 Italian Code confers unto acknowledged natural children “one moiety of the share which they would be entitled to had they been legitimate” should there also be legitimate heirs (art. 744), and two-thirds in the absence of legitimate children but if there are ascendants or a spouse (art. 745). The natural child however acquired the entire inheritance if its parent left neither legitimate descendants or ascendants, nor a spouse (art.747).

  33. 33.

    According to Jean-Louis Koenigswarter’s reading—who cites the laws of Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and England, and the Codes of the Swiss Cantons of Bern, Fribourg, and Argau—all of these legislations were influenced by ancient German law (Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 93 ss.).

  34. 34.

    Thus, for instance, the Codes of the German-speaking Swiss Cantons such as Bern (art. 206), Fribourg (art. 299 et seq.) and Argau (art. 231 et seq.). Cf. Koenigswarter (as n. 12) 94–95.

  35. 35.

    In this case, the right is extended not just to the mother but to all relatives on the mother’s side (Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 96).

  36. 36.

    With regard to this legislation too, refer to the analysis made by Koenigswarter 1842 (as n. 12) 96–97.

  37. 37.

    According to Giuseppe Leoni, the search was deemed as freely permitted in Greece, England, Scotland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, some Cantons in German-speaking Switzerland, and some States of the United States, as well as Argentina and Peru (Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 253).

  38. 38.

    Italian and French jurists in particular, who were very critical of the codes of their respective countries, based their observations on a wide review of the legislative solutions adopted in Europe and America, to ask for the introduction of at least specific exceptions to the prohibition. Among the Italians: Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 253; Gabba, Carlo Francesco. 1881. La dichiarazione della paternità illegittima e l’articolo 189 del Codice civile italiano, Annuario delle scienze giuridiche, sociali e politiche: 178–240 (190 ss.); Mori, Vincenzo. 1890. Appunti su l’azione di paternità naturale nel diritto antico e modern. Il Filangieri 15: 569–584, 594–631, 622–708 (a classification is proposed on pp. 576 et seq. of modern legislations which allow or do not allow the search, showing the marked prevalence of the former); Regnoli, Oreste. 1897. Prima tesi. Relazione, Parte prima “se e quali riforme siano da introdursi nel Codice civile relativamente alla ricerca della paternità, e alla condizione giuridica dei figli illegittimi”, in Atti del III Congresso Giuridico Nazionale tenutosi in Firenze l’anno 1891 pubblicati per incarico della Commissione esecutiva dall’Avv. Camillo de Benedetti, direttore della “Cassazione Unica”. Torino: UTET: 32–51.

  39. 39.

    Dalloz 1855 (as n. 1) 292 ss. According to Ahrens, however, the principle adopted by the French Code was inspired by a wrong consideration of the scandal which frequently arose from similar judicial processes and constituted a violation of a fundamental principle of justice both for the mother and the child (Ahrens, Heinrich. 1838. Cours de droit naturel ou De philosophie du droit: complété, dans les principales matières, par des aperçus historiques et politiques, trad.it. Corso di diritto naturale o di filosofia del diritto completato nelle materie più importanti da alcuni schizzi storici e politici (trans. Alberto Marghieri. Napoli 1872, 202). On the genesis of the rule Cf. also Pouzol, Abel. 1902. La recherche de la paternité: étude critique de sociologie et de législation comparée. Paris: V. Giard & E. Briere, 26 ss.; Azzariti, Giuseppe. 1939. Paternità (ricerca della). In Nuovo Digesto Italiano 9, 527–533.

  40. 40.

    Jean Simon Loiseau seems to justify the harshness of the practice as a punishment for the irresponsible behaviour of natural parents (Loiseau 1811 (as n. 1) 768 ss.); Cadrès too explains that, “La paternité étant un mystère de la nature, le législateur a sagement prohibé, par l’article 340, toute action qui aurait pour but de rechercher quelest le père d’un enfant” and quotes at length from the speech delivered when the draft was submitted to the French legislative body by Bigot de Préameneu (repeatedly cited also by other authors) who qualified enquiries on paternity as a veritable scourge of society (Cadrès, Émile. Traité des enfants naturels mis en rapport avec la doctrine et la jurisprudence. Paris: Videcoq père et fils éditeurs, 41; tradit., Trattato dei figli naturali messo in rapporto colla dottrina e la giurisprudenza, prima versione italiana dell’avvocato Giuseppe Puglisi. Palermo 1852, 38–39). On Napoleonic practice and its genesis, see the analysis made by Cazzetta 1999 (as n. 2) 227–243.

  41. 41.

    “ai figli naturali non è permessa l’indagine che sulla maternità”: Thus art. 87. The subsequent art. 88 adds in the same manner that “it shall be prohibited to children born to adultery or incest to institute an action to establish paternity or maternity”.

  42. 42.

    The text, which remained in force between 1845 and 1871, provided in art. 256: “Se prohibe absolutamente la investigacion de la paternidad de los hijos nacidos fuera de matrimonio. La prohibicion de investigar es absoluta, tanto en favor como en contra del hijo”. The subsequent art. 257 provided on the otherhand that “Solamente el hijo tiene derecho para investigar la maternidad, á fin de obtener el reconocimiento de la madre; y únicamente podrá hacerlo, concurriendo simultáneamente todas las circunstancias siguientes: 1. Si tiene en su favor la posesion de estado de hijo natural de aquella. 2. Si la persona, cuya maternidad se reclama, no estáligada con vínculo conyugal al tiempo en que se pide el reconocimiento. La posesion de estado, para los efectos de este artículo, se justifica, probando simultáneamente que la pretendida madre cuidó de su lactancia y educacion, y que lo reconoció y trató como tal hijo. La prueba de estos hechos podrá hacerse con testigos que no sean de oídas, habiendo un principio de prueba por escrito”. The new code, promulgated at the end of 1870, provides the same exceptions also to establish the identity of the father (cf. on this point Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 260–261).

  43. 43.

    For instance, in the Cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Valais (the last mentioned however allowed the action even in the case of paternal care, cohabitation of parents, written proof originating from the father, and so on). Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 259.

  44. 44.

    Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 259.

  45. 45.

    Thus the Italian text. On the Dutch text, which he proposed translated in French (“La recherche de la paternité est interdite. Dans le cas de viol ou d’enlèvement, lorsque l’époque du délit se rapportera à celle de la grossesse, le coupable pourra être, sur la demande des parties intéressées, déclaré père de l’enfant”), the advocate Verduchène simply observed that “cet article est conforme à l’art. 340 nap.”: Verduchène, J. 1860. Observations critiques sur le code civil neerlandais, comparé avec le code napoléon. Livre I, tit. I au VI e. Maëstricht: Van Osch-America et C., 153.

  46. 46.

    Cf. Relazione sul Progetto del primo libro del Codice Civile presentato in iniziativa al Senato dal Ministro Guardasigilli (Pisanelli) nella tornata del 15 novembre 1862, in Codice civile preceduto dalle Relazioni Ministeriale e Senatoriale, dalle Discussioni Parlamentari e dai Verbali della Commissione coordinatrice, ed. Sebastiano Gianzana. 1. Relazioni. Torino: UTET, 28.

  47. 47.

    Relazione della Commissione del Senato sul Progetto del Codice Civile presentato dal Ministro Guardasigilli (Pisanelli) nelle tornate del 15 luglio e 26 novembre 1863, in Codice civile (as n. 46) 1. Relazioni: 152 ss. (210).

  48. 48.

    Verbali della Commissione di coordinamento, verbale n. 12, Seduta del 27 aprile 1865, in Codice civile (as n. 46), 3, Verbali, 93–94.

  49. 49.

    Codice civile del regno d’Italia. 1866. Torino: Stamperia reale, XIII ss. See also Aquarone, Alberto, 1960. L’unificazione legislativa e i codici del 1865. Milano: Giuffrè, 370–371.

  50. 50.

    The exceptions carried by the Portuguese Civil Code (promulgated in 1867), in addition to abduction and rape, are a text written by the alleged father and ‘possession of state’ (art. 130). Cf. Codigo civil portuguez approvado por carta de lei de 1 de Julho 1867. Segunda ediçao official. 1868. Lisboa: Imprencia nacional.

  51. 51.

    Thus art. 226, renumbered as 209.

  52. 52.

    It is the text of art. 227, later renumbered as 210; whereas the subsequent provision refers to both the civil law and the common law traditions: “The oath of the mother, supported by proof of the co–habitation of the reputed father with her, out of his house, is not sufficient to establish natural paternal descent, if the mother be known as a woman of dissolute manners, or as having had an unlawful connexion with one or more men (other than the man whom she declares to be the father of the child) either before or since the birth of the child” (art. 228, then 211). It is the same line adopted by English law after 1835 (cf. also Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 254).

  53. 53.

    Moreover, in the light of the ratio attributed to the legislative text, the judicial decisions of the first half of the nineteenth century had considered as equivalent the confession of being the father of an illegitimate child and that of having had relations with the mother. The courts had even considered valid the proof given by a minor. Cf. Mattei 1852 (as n. 28) 502, with his bibliography. See also Cavagnari, Camillo. 1891. Nuovi orizzonti del diritto civile in rapporto colle istituzioni pupillari. Saggio di critica e riforma legislativa. Milano: Fratelli Dumolard, 32 ss. Cf. Valsecchi, Chiara. 2015. “The determination of paternity must be admissible”. post-unification civil law theory and practice and the family law reforms. transitory law issues. Italian Review of Legal History 1.13: 1–17.

  54. 54.

    Legal authors reiterate it in no uncertain terms, clarifying that the presumption foreseen in § 163 has to be deemed a simple one (Mattei 1852 (as n. 28) 502).

  55. 55.

    §. 165 of the A.B.G.B. laid down that illegitimate children did not enjoy family or kinship rights; they could not lay claim to their father’s surname, nor did they have the right to nobility or other prerogatives of the parents, but merely took the name of their mother.

  56. 56.

    Thus § 166 which closed with the clarification that illegitimate children were not “really subject to the paternal authority of their father, but are assisted and represented by a tutor”.

  57. 57.

    The detailed regulation found in the Code of Zurich of 1887 inspired subsequent ones of other cantons, such as that of Thurgau or Graubünden. The Codes of Bern (1830), Lucerne (1839), or Argau (1855) were very similar too (Leoni, Giuseppe. 1892–98: 257).

  58. 58.

    This was the exceptional case of Argentina, were not only the Code permitted the proof of paternity by any means, but also granted the natural child (save those born of adultery or incest) even a share of the father’s inheritance. Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 258.

  59. 59.

    Mori 1890 (as n. 38) 581.

  60. 60.

    Supra, n. 42.

  61. 61.

    The only exceptions were the case in which the mother lived a wanton life or there were clear scientific elements to demonstrate that the moment of conception was different from that in which the mother had had relations with the alleged father, and other particular cases. Verhandlungen des Geschiten Deutschen Juristentages, Zweiter Band. 1866. Berlin: Drud und Commissions-Verlag von G. Jansen, 41–43. Cf. Mori 1890 (as n. 38) 692.

  62. 62.

    Mentioned also by Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 285–286.

  63. 63.

    Cf. Haanebrink, H. 1921. Code civil néerlandais traduit en français et mis en concordance avec le code civil belge. Bruxelles: Établissements Émile Bruylant-Paris, Librairie Générale de droit, 63; Azzariti, Giuseppe. 1939: 531.

  64. 64.

    Swiss Civil Code, art. 307–323. Cf. Azzariti 1939 (as n. 39) 531.

  65. 65.

    Dumas, Alexandre, fils. 1883. La Recherche de la paternité. Lettre à M. Rivet. Paris: Calmann Levy. Cf. also the authors named by Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 281–282.

  66. 66.

    In 1876, during a conference on the rights of children, Maria Deraisme held, among other things, that “La paternité est la première application du droit de l’enfant”and that “ Il est dans l’ordre, dans la justice qu’il retombe à la charge de ceux qui ont provoqué sa venue, de ses auteurs en somme. Et que si ceux-ci se dérobent à cette obligation naturelle, la loi les mette en demeure de s’exécuter”. The inevitable conclusion was that “Aussi, cette interdiction de la recherche de la paternité est-elle l’infraction la plus flagrante des droits de l’enfant, conséquemment des droits de l’homme”, Deraisme, Maria. 1887. Les droits de l’enfant. Paris: éd. E. Dentu, 22; cf. Société générale de protection pour l’enfance abandonnée ou coupable. 1884–86. Bonjean, Maurice.1884-86. Congrès international de la protection de l’enfance, tenu au palais du Trocadéro les 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 et 23 juin 1883. Compte rendu des travaux, publié au nom de la Commission internationale permanente, Société générale de protection pour l’enfance abandonnée ou coupable. Paris: G. Pedone-Lauriel. Cf. Mori 1890 (as n. 38) 692–69. Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 282, recalls also what had emerged from the sitting of March 21, 1875 of the Societé d’Economie sociale.

  67. 67.

    A review can be found in: Mori 1890 (as n. 38) 692 ss.; Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 281 ss.; Accollas 1870 (as n. 12) 105 ss.; Dorlhac, Augée. 1891. De la condition juridique des enfants naturels dans le passè, dans le present, dans l’avvenir. Paris: A. Rousseau, 195, 290, 311–317. Cf. also Coulet, Paul, Vaunois, Albert. 1880. Étude sur la recherche de la paternité (avec une préface de Léon Renault). Paris: A. Maresq Ainé.

  68. 68.

    Cf. Halpérin, Jean-Louis. 1996. Histoire du droit privé depuis 1804. Paris: PUF; di Renzo Villata 2001 (as n. 1) 770.

  69. 69.

    For instance, the writing of the alleged father, already admitted by the Piedmontese Code, the more uxorio cohabitation of the parents and the behaviour of the alleged father toward the alleged child and how he treated it, were held to be sufficient evidence in many case by both the Sacra Rota and other tribunals such as those of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. There were also long discussions about ‘seduction’ (see, for instance, Leonardi-Mercurio, Giovanni. 1890–91. La seduzione e l’art. 189 del cod. civ. ital. Antologia giuridica 4.8–12 (dic. 1890–apr 1891): 690–727; cf. Cazzetta 1999 (as n. 2) 290 ss). On these themes, even for a further bibliography, see Valsecchi, Chiara. 2014. Filiazione e ricerca della paternità, in Avvocati protagonisti e rinnovatori del primo diritto unitario, edd. Stefano Borsacchi and Gian Savino Pene Vidari, 167–200. Bologna: il Mulino; Valsecchi, Chiara. 2015. Padri presunti e padri invisibili. Filiazione e ricerca della paternità nel diritto italiano tra Otto e Novecento, in Famiglia e matrimonio di fronte al Sinodo. Il punto di vista dei giuristi, edd. Ombretta Fumagalli Carulli and Anna Sammassimo, 491–512. Milano: Vita e Pensiero.

  70. 70.

    This was discussed in both the third international conference on hygiene, held at Turin in 1880, as well as the international conference on public charity held in Milan at the end of that same year. (Mori, 1890 (as n. 38) 692).

  71. 71.

    The introduction in the Code of civil marriage as the only form recognised by the law of Italy brought about the statistic collapse of legitimate unions. Because old habits die hard or on account of ignorance, many continued to get ‘married’ only in the presence of a priest, without being concerned with the celebration of a second union in the presence of an official of the State and not realising that, for the civil law of Italy, they were merely concubines. Among the heavier consequences of this widespread situation featured the condition of the children born to such unions.

  72. 72.

    See as an example: Bianchi Bianchi, Emilio. 1880. Le indagini sulla paternità naturale. Archivio giuridico 24: 162–183; Cuturi, Torquato. 1880. Studi sulla dichiarazione giudiziale della paternità dei figli naturali. Archivio giuridico 25: 385–426; Gabba, Carlo Francesco. 1881. La dichiarazione della paternità illegittima e l’articolo 189 del Codice civile italiano. Annuario delle scienze giuridiche, sociali e politiche: 178–240; Santangelo Spoto, Ippolito. 1889. I nati fuori matrimonio e la proibizione di ricerca della paternità. Antologia giuridica 3.9–12 (ago–nov. 1889): 186–211; Cimbali, Enrico. 1902. Due riforme urgenti: il divorzio e la ricerca della paternità naturale, Torino: UTET: 33–73. Further indications in Valsecchi 2015b (as n. 69).

  73. 73.

    Leoni 1892–98 (as n. 1) 263–275. For more about this theme, see Valsecchi 2015 (as n. 53) 1–17.

  74. 74.

    In addition to cases of abduction and rape, there were cases in which paternity transpired indirectly from sentences of the civil or criminal courts or depended on the declaration of nullity of a marriage, or from the explicit declaration made by the father in writing, the case of “seduction”, when the parents had lived publicly together at the time corresponding to the conception, and lastly if the children had received “paternal treatment” from the father. The case of more uxorio cohabitation thus also included religious matrimony. Atti del III Congresso Giuridico Nazionale tenutosi in Firenze l’anno 1891 pubblicati per incarico della Commissione esecutiva dall’Avv. Camillo de Benedetti, direttore della “Cassazione Unica”. 1897. Torino: UTET, 24, 50, 232–233. On the contribution Italian lawyers gave to the debate, see Valsecchi 2014 (as n. 69).

  75. 75.

    In 1891, the prominent jurist Emanuele Gianturco tabled a bill to introduce tutelage for “seduced women and young persons”. But it was defeated in Parliament. In 1896, a Committee was created in Milan for the reform of art. 189. Academics and technical experts joined this Committee, alongside personalities such as Paolina Schiff, member of the League for the Defence of the Interests of Women. In the opening years of the twentieth century, the discussions still centred round the theme of the first National Congress of Italian Women, held in Milan in 1908 and on February 22, 1910 a new bill was tabled at the Senate by Vittorio Scialoja. Even this time, the bill did met with any success. There was the beginning of some opening in the provisions favouring orphans issued during the First World War. Cf. Azzariti 1939 (as n. 39) 530–531; Labriola, Teresa. 1910. La ricerca della paternità, in Atti del 1. Congresso Meridionale “Pro Infantia”, 28, 29, 30, 31 ottobre 1909. Città di Castello: Società tipografica coop.

  76. 76.

    This well-known definition is by Ferrara, Francesco. 1940. Rinnovamento del diritto civile secondo i postulati fascisti, Archivio di studi corporativi 46. On these topics, see Di Simone, Maria Rosa. 1993. La condizione femminile dal codice del 1865 al codice del 1942: spunti per una riflessione. In I cinquant’anni del codice civile. Atti del Convegno di Milano 4–6 giugno 1992, 2. Comunicazioni. Milano: Giuffrè, 561–593; di Renzo Villata 2001 (as n. 1) 764 ss. and bibliography.

  77. 77.

    Azzariti, Giuseppe. 1938. Filiazione (diritto civile). In Nuovo Digesto Italiano 7, 1136–1160. Torino: UTET.

  78. 78.

    Thus, for instance, it specified the age the parents had to have to be allowed to acknowledge the child, or the possibility, already accepted without objection, that one of the parents could, subject to certain conditions, recognise even the child born in adultery or incest, or the acceptance of the acknowledgement of the predeceased child. A more pronounced opening could be seen also in the forms of the acknowledgement, which now also covered the last will made in whichever form. On the origins of the project cf. Azzariti 1938 (as n. 77) 1149 ss.

  79. 79.

    In particular, if the person was treated like a son or daughter by whoever is identified as the natural father and if the latter, just like a father, provided maintenance and education and helped the child to find an employment or a profession, and furthermore if the child was constantly considered as such in social relations—these were all considered evidence. For a further analysis of these provisions of the Code, see Azzariti 1939 (as n. 39) 531–533 e Labriola, Teresa. 1933. Contributo agli studi sulla ricerca della paternità (A proposito dell’art. 334 del disegno di codice civile). In La donna nella famiglia nella legislazione fascista. Napoli: Edizioni de ‘La toga’, 59–66.

  80. 80.

    Grassetti, Cesare. 1950. I principi costituzionali relativi al diritto familiare. In Commentario sistematico alla Costituzione italiana 1. Firenze: Barbera, 285 ss. For further bibliographical information on these aspects, see di Renzo Villata 2001 (as n. 1) 767 ss.

  81. 81.

    di Renzo Villata 2001 (as n. 1) 773–774.

  82. 82.

    Cavanna 2007b (as n. 11) 776.

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    Chiara Valsecchi

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    Maria Gigliola di Renzo Villata

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Valsecchi, C. (2016). Fathers by Law, Fathers by Choice. Paternity and Illegitimacy Between Ancien Régime and Codification in Western Countries. In: di Renzo Villata, M. (eds) Family Law and Society in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era. Studies in the History of Law and Justice, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42289-3_10

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