Protection and autonomy: exploring the challenges of safeguarding vulnerable parties through a comparative lens

The article examines how Italian and English family law recalibrate the autonomy-protection balance at marital breakdown, with a particular focus on the spouse who is perceived to be the "weaker" party. The central question posed in this study is whether the current legal framework can be reconciled with substantive equality and a minimum floor of post-relationship solidarity. The study employs a comparative approach, complemented by a socio-legal and normative analysis drawing on vulnerability theory and selective use of caselaw. It has been demonstrated that within the Italian legal framework, the primary protection remedy is predominantly characterised by rule-based mechanisms, with property regimes and maintenance payments being instru-mental in its implementation. However, a notable shift in jurisprudence has been observed, transitioning from a lifestyle benchmark to a more comprehen-sive, assistential and egalitarian model that acknowledges the contributions of domestic and care work, with the objective of promoting autonomy. In the English model, property rules are balanced by equitable adjustment and fi-nancial relief is organised around needs-sharing-compensation. There is a clean-break preference (lump sums, property adjustment, pension sharing) and restrained, often term-limited, periodical payments. The conclusion drawn therein asserts that both systems are increasingly prioritising the facilitation of fair transitions over the provision of lifetime annuities. However, it is cru-cial that they are more consistent in operationalising vulnerability-conscious equality to prevent upstream inequalities from producing downstream injus-tice. In such a context, the application of a model of regulated privatisation, incorporating a de-giurisdictionalisation approach, is a defensible proposition. Private ordering should be encouraged, but it should be bounded by a minimum solidarity floor, robust disclosure, equity review of settlements, and targeted state intervention, especially for children and other vulnerable groups.