ABSTRACT
Attention is drawn to an important feature of the Italian legal order at the outset: as a rule, decisions concerning care for children in distress are taken by magistrates and courts. This chapter deals with the issues of liability actions against public bodies have been made neither easier nor more difficult. The net effect of the statutes on the civil liability of magistrates is to limit significantly public bodies' liability for child abuse. Dealing first with the issue of temporary placements, Article 4 provides for the temporary placement of children outside their natural family. The fact that a digital database search spanning the last twenty years or so showed no reported criminal cases dealing with abuses against temporarily placed or adopted children, could be evidence of this. Under Article 85, those who are vicariously liable for the wrongdoings of a third party having committed a crime can also be sued before the criminal court.
