A family court judge is to decide upon a request by two Italian grandparents seeking access to their three-year old granddaughter living in Malta.
The grandparents resorted to the courts in a bid to reestablish contact with the child after relations with the girl’s parents grew strained when they relocated to Malta.
The girl, born to the grandparent's daughter and her Maltese husband, was frequently visited by the grandparents when they were still in Italy.
But following the move to Malta, communication became increasingly difficult, with the child’s parents claiming that the grandparents were the source of “intrusive and negative influence” on their marriage.
A first bid by the grandparents to gain access through the Italian courts had faltered when the court declared that since the minor had moved to Malta together with her parents, it was the Maltese courts that would have to decide on the matter.
Citing human rights case law to support their claim, the grandparents argued that they have a legal right to ensure the child has access to family members, including her grandparents.
The grandparents made reference to a human rights regulation which the European Court of Human Rights has interpreted as including the concept of access rights, not only those pertaining to parents “but also to the rights of access of other persons with whom it is important for the child to maintain a personal relationship, among others, that child’s grandparents, whether or not they are holders of parental responsibility”.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Anthony Vella, observed that although Maltese law does not contemplate access rights for grandparents the application of the regulation should prevail.
This was especially so when one considered that the Italian court did not deny the right of access to the grandparents, but just denied the Italian court's jurisdiction.
The court rejected the plea of lack of juridical interest raised by the minor’s parents who had argued that although the grandparents “may have a general and emotional interest,” that did not mean that their interest was recognised at law.
Mr Justice Vella declared that since the grandparents’ rights to demand access is not an automatic and an absolute right, but subject to the best interests of the child test, then safeguarding a child in this way leaves no place for threat to the public order.
Likewise, granting visitation rights to grandparents could not be seen as detracting from parental authority, the court went on, adding that the grandparents’ access rights would only be decided upon once the court had gathered all the evidence and assessed the whole case.