Italy rules out corporal punishment

Rome - Rejecting the appeal of a man who hit his 10-year-old daughter with a belt, Italy's Supreme Court has ruled that corporal punishment is no longer an acceptable way to educate children. Italian newspapers yesterday reported on the decision, handed down last week.

The court refused to overturn a Milan appeals court's conviction of the man on charges of improper punishment. The Supreme Court said corporal punishment, like slaps, kicks and hitting with a belt, even when inflicted to educate the child, should not be allowed. The high court was reversing itself on a ruling earlier this year that a group of adults charged with watching over children were not guilty of mistreatment when they disciplined children by blows with a carpet-beater. The court, however, said other means of punishment should have been used. AP