Born in Rome on May 11, 1965, Mario Melillo graduated in Law with honours at the University “La Sapienza” of Rome on May 8, 1989 discussing a thesis in Civil Procedural Law, entitled “L’annullamento in sede contenziosa dei provvedimenti di giurisdizione volontaria”; supervisor Professor Elio Fazzalari.

He passed the bar examination on November 17, 1992 at the Corte d’appello of Rome, and he has worked with the Lana – Lagostena Bassi – Rosi Law Firm since 1997. In 2000 he became a senior partner of the Firm, in which he mainly deals with the judicial sector.

He deals with a wide range of subjects, from family law to juvenile and health law.
In particular, Mr. Melillo has dealt with sensitive issues relating to the separation of spouses and the dissolution of marriage, including the application of international regulations, and he has represented cases of verification and disavowal of paternity in various Italian courts.

As for juvenile law, he has curated complex cases of international adoption and he has dealt with numerous issues of child abduction (with application of the Hague Convention of 1980), as well as situations concerning the citizenship of children adopted abroad.

Mr. Melillo has also dealt with numerous cases of special international adoption. In addition, he deals with the protection of foreigners, with reference to cases of recognition of the status of refugee entitled to humanitarian protection, the granting of political asylum and recognition of statelessness – in relation to the latter subject, Mr. Melillo intervened as a speaker in several conferences specifically dedicated to it. Moreover, he has advocated for actions aimed at the repression of discriminatory activities.

On the domestic law front, Mr. Melillo is involved in a wide range of litigations relating to patients’ rights, maternity protection and compensation for damages caused by healthcare malpractice. He achieved significant results such as the first judgment – which gained considerable media coverage – on compensation for parental damages due to the loss of the fetus, liquidated in an amount equal to the one due for the loss of the born child.

He attended the Corso istituzionale di diritto comunitario (Institutional Course of Community Law), organized by the Associazione Italiana Giuristi Europei in collaboration with the Consiglio dell’Ordine degli Avvocati e Procuratori of Rome, obtaining the relative diploma on June 15, 1991.
From 1989 to 1998, he collaborated as an expert with the Chair of Civil Procedural Law at the University “La Sapienza” of Rome, Professor Elio Fazzalari.

He is Secretary General of the Unione per la Tutela dei Diritti Umani.

He is a member of the Editorial Committee of the scientific journal “I diritti dell’uomo. Cronache e battaglie”, body of the Unione Forense per la Tutela dei Diritti Umani.
He teaches the course “Asilo e diritti umani in Europa”(“Asylum and Human Rights in Europe”), organized by the Consiglio italiano per i rifugiati (Italian Council for Refugees, CIR), the Council of Europe and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with lectures on the judicial protection of asylum seekers.

He teaches the course: “Migrazioni, integrazione e democrazia – Profili giuridici, sociali e culturali”, organized by the Unione Forense per la Tutela dei Diritti Umani.
He is a speaker at several courses and conferences on family law, juvenile law, health law and immigration law. He has acted as secretary in arbitration procedures, collaborating in the drafting of the relative arbitration award.

He has also obtained the title of professional mediator.
He was a member of the Commission of bar examinations for the Corte d’appello of Rome in the 2012 session, and President of the Commission in the 2018 and 2022 sessions.