Minister promises consultation on family laws review

The Justice Minister said today that he agreed with recent comments by the Chief Justice for a re-examination of the strengths and weakness of Malta laws regarding marriage and said that once proposals were made, they would be submitted for public consultation.

Speaking at a conference on "Empowering families as sustainable partners in social policy", Dr Carm Mifsud Bonnici underlined the need for the state to continue to support those families that ran into difficulties.

There was no doubt, he said, that the legal measures currently in hand were of assistance to families in difficulties who resorted to the Family Court.

"This court, thanks to the dedicated work of all judges and mediators, has managed to change positively the scenario which was extant in the previous years, and rest assured that there should be no difficulty to embark on the next step which should allow us to strengthen what we have already in place," the minister said.

He referred to the introduction, six years ago, of mediation services for those who filed for separation, and said 91% of couples who filed for separation had made use of this service.

Mediation helped 53% of couples to find an amicable solution to their problems and 11% withdrew their application after participating in the mediation process.

"The major step in this reform was the undoubted fact that couples are now being allotted far more attention to their problems. Mediators spend far more time with the couples, helping them solve their dispute. Quality time is granted to the parties. The sterling work which is delivered by mediators through the whole process is accepted by all and sundry. The message which is being delivered is that separations, family breakups, are not being treated by the State as if they were devoid of importance, as if they were numbers or just an administrative triviality, a joke, but with the required dignity," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

Other states, he said, had reacted to marriage problems by introducing fast divorce proceedings where the dissolution was carried out administratively with no questions asked or any attempts at aiding the couples.

"The message, to my mind, is that these States do not have the same level of care we are providing," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

He said he agreed that, as suggested by the Chief Justice, there was a need to sit round a table to examine dispassionately the strengths and weaknesses of current laws

As part of this law updating exercise, last January, his Ministry organised a seminar on the Family Court to analyse what had been achieved to date and to shape the future policy of this court.

This, he said, would be a policy which would continue to be aimed at helping parties in separation proceedings understand what the consequences of such a step would be, and reduce the hardships.

The process would also include an improved approach in the filing of lawsuits for annulments.

"In the coming weeks I hope that my Ministry will publish the papers and debates of this seminar, then appoint a number of persons specialising in family matters to identify all the recommendations and proposals that were put forward, and finally embark on a public consultation process inviting those who are interested to contribute to this reform," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.