ADOPTION. – This term designates the institution whose purpose is the transfer of an individual from one kinship group to another, through the creation of a filiation that is said to be civil inasmuch as it arises not from a blood tie but from a juridical relationship established by consent, under the conditions and in the forms prescribed by law. Traces of it are found among the most ancient peoples, such as the Rabionians (Hammurabi’s law) and the Greeks. It is disputed whether the Hebrews knew and practiced adoption; the biblical texts usually cited (Gen. 48:12–20; Ex. 1:10; Esth. 2:7b) are not conclusive. Yet one must take into account the practice of adoption widespread throughout the Semitic East, of which the Nuzi tablets have recently provided fresh evidence. From Roman law, which provided its fundamental systematization, it passed into canon law and modern civil law.
The Italian Civil Code regulates adoption in articles 291 and following; according to the Code of Canon Law (canons 1059 and 1080), its importance is instead limited to the fact that it gives rise, in certain cases, to a matrimonial impediment (v. COGNAZIONE).