Joint statement on Joanne Cassar Case

The MGRM and aditus foundation welcome the Maltese Government’s decision to drop its objection to Joanne Cassar’s claim to the right to marry.

The case of Joanne Cassar versus Malta is currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where she is claiming that when Malta prevented her from marrying her fiancée, her fundamental human rights were violated.

The right of transgender persons to marry was firmly established in a preceding case dating back to 2002 – Christine Goodwin vs. the United Kingdom – where the ECtHR held that it “finds no justification for barring the transsexual from enjoying the right to marry under any circumstances.”

We also welcome the Government’s pledge to promptly enact the required changes to the Civil Code to ensure recognition of transgender as persons of the acquired sex for all intents and purposes, including marriage.

In addition we reiterate the need for a comprehensive Gender Identity Bill, as proposed by MGRM in 2010, that would facilitate the gender recognition of transgender persons and safeguard their fundamental human rights, including the right to respect for privacy and family life as established in Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Download it here.

For further information:

Dr. Neil Falzon (aditus foundation Director) – 99892191

Gabi Calleja (MGRM Coordinator) – 99250943


Joint statement by aditus & Malta Gay Rights Movement on new Maltese legislation affecting transgender persons

The Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) and aditus welcome the announcement, reported in the Malta Independent of 02/11/2011 that an amendment to legislation is to be introduced that will eliminate one of the human rights violations currently taking place in respect of transgender persons.  This will do away with the current practice of appointing a court expert to verify irreversible sex reassignment.

However, this falls far short of the comprehensive legislative changes required in order to meet current best practice in this field as clearly outlined in the report ‘A Proposed Gender Identity Act for Malta’ presented by MGRM in December 2010.  The proposed ‘Gender Identity Act’ which was tabled in parliament by MP Evarist Bartolo has still not yet been put on parliament’s agenda.

The main proposals contained in the MGRM document largely reflect those recommended in a recent study published by the Council of Europe Commissioner of Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg entitled ‘Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Europe’.  These include the following:

  1. Grant legal recognition for the preferred gender of transgender persons and develop expeditious and transparent procedures for changing the name and sex of a transgender person on birth certificates, civil registers, identity cards, passports, educational certificates and other similar documents;
  2. Abolish sterilisation and other compulsory medical treatment which may seriously impair the autonomy, health or well-being of the individual, as necessary requirements for the legal recognition of a transgender person’s preferred gender;
  3. Remove the requirement of being unmarried, or divorce for already married persons, as a necessary condition for the legal recognition of a transgender person’s preferred gender;
  4. Respect the right of transgender persons to effectively exercise their right to marry in accordance with their legally recognised gender;
  5. Review any requirements of a diagnosis of mental disorder for accessing transgender health care in view of eliminating obstacles to the effective enjoyment, by transgender persons, of the rights to self-determination and the highest attainable standard of health;
  6. Make sex reassignment procedures, such as hormone treatment, surgery and psychological support, accessible to transgender persons subject to informed consent and ensure that they are reimbursed by health insurance in acknowledgement of their life-saving potential.

The Malta Gay Rights Movement and aditus therefore urge the Minister for Justice to take the current proposal tabled by MP Evarist Bartolo as the basis for the development of any legislative change as this meets the human rights standards as understood in the Yogyakarta Principles and the Hammarberg paper.  Additionally, any amendments to the proposed bill should be discussed with MGRM and aditus as the sole credible interlocutors for trans people.


The Cohabitation Bill is a zero-starting point

Following months of meetings with the Maltese Government to discuss possible forms of legal recognition of same-sex relationships, aditus foundation can only describe the Bill presented today as a regrettable failure.  This is based on the zero-starting point presented through the Bill which, although being offered as a tool to recognise same-sex relationships, effectively does nothing to alter the present barren legal scenario.

Having carefully analysed the Bill and its possible implications, aditus wishes to highlight that most of the ‘rights’ created therein are already accessible today by any person.  Anyone, including a homosexual couple, may approach any notary and regulate issues such as shared or common property and payments to any other person that could easily be termed ‘maintenance’.

The Bill is over-burdened with references to financial elements, reducing same-sex relationships to quasi-commercial transactions between two persons, and several issues are either unclear or the result of unrefined legal drafting.

For example, it is not clear whether eligibility for registration of a civil cohabitation partnership requires fulfillment of the ‘cohabitant’ criteria found in Article 3, namely the requirement of cohabitation of two years or more where children are involved or of five years in other cases.  If this interpretation were correct, then same-sex couples would be required to firstly cohabit for the required number of years in order to be able to register their relationships.  Marriage contains no such requirement.

It is also unclear whether the criteria in Article 3(1)(a) or (b) – relating to the duration of the relationship – are sufficient for registration of civil cohabitation partnerships or whether the criteria in Article 3(2) – relating to other circumstances – will also be taken into account at the registration stage.

We also cannot understand why same-sex couples are required to have received legal advice as a precondition to registration, when a far more serious contract as is marriage does not require any form or such advice, training or even basic information.

We were also expecting the Bill to ensure that third-country nationals in same-sex relationships with Maltese nationals would be granted permission to enter, stay and work in Malta.  The Bill makes no mention of this element, and neither of the need to guarantee the freedom of movement rights of EU nationals moving to Malta through recognition of marriages or partnerships validly contracted in other EU Member States.

These points seem to reflect the Bill’s overall policy assumptions, namely that same-sex relationships are ‘special’ relationships, often riddled with abuse and exploitation and thereby requiring protection for weaker parties.

For all of the above reasons, aditus foundation is extremely disappointed at the Bill’s achievement in being an absolute zero-starting point that promotes the inherent unequal dignity of human beings.

aditus reiterates the argumentation and recommendations made in MGRM’s Position Paper on marriage Equality, authored by aditus Director Dr. Neil Falzon as MGRM’s Legal Advisor, essentially strongly advocating for the fullest legal recognition of same-sex relationships through marriage equality.

“Regrettably, despite genuine efforts at constructive dialogue with the Minister, the Bill is largely a disappointing and failed attempt to engage with Malta’s gay community.  

This is absolutely not the result of dialogue, at least not as we understand the term.” (Dr. Neil Falzon, aditus foundation Director)


aditus & Malta Gay Rights Movement applaud today’s MEP statement condemning homophobic laws

The Malta Gay Rights Movement welcomes the position taken by the Maltese MEP’s in support of a resolution to condemn homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe adopted by the European Parliament and supported by all the five mainstream political groups. The MGRM acknowledges the important role played by Simon Busuttil who led the negotiations on behalf of the EPP group to ensure a strong resolution. This was the first of its kind in this legislature to be co-signed by the EPP group.

In today’s resolution, the European Parliament “strongly condemns any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”.

The Parliament adopted its official position after a debate on Tuesday, where MEPs almost unanimously asked the European Commission and European governments to better protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The resolution particularly condemns recent laws or proposals in EU countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary) and Council of Europe Member States Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, making it a penal or criminal offence to talk positively about homosexuality in public. The resolution also calls for the mutual recognition of the effects of civil status documents when moving from one member state to another and calls on other member states that have not yet done so to introduce the means for legal recognition of same-sex couples.

The MGRM also praises the participation of David Casa in the video produced by the Intergroup on LGBT Rights on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia.

Gabi Calleja, coordinator of the MGRM stated: We look forward to the adoption of various pieces of legislation currently before parliament.

Neil Falzon, Director of aditus foundation, added: Whilst we particularly welcome the appeal for legislation recognising same-sex relationships, we strongly urge this to take the form of full marriage equality.  Anything below full equality falls short of guaranteeing respect for human dignity.”


aditus joins other local NGOs to condemn act of violence against a lesbian teenager

The Malta Gay Rights Movement and aditus strongly condemn the act of violence that took place in Hamrun against two young women on Friday 13th January as reported in the Sunday Times and would like to express their solidarity with the victims and their families.

In many countries, such an assault would be investigated as a hate crime but Malta has yet to extend hate crime legislation to include the grounds of homophobia and transphobia.

Violence on lesbian, gay and trans people is not an uncommon occurrence although most incidents do not get reported to the police or featured in newspapers. Trust in the police force is an essential factor in encouraging and enabling LGBT victims to come forward and report such crimes. For this reason, how the police react to this assault, also has an effect on the reporting of other similar incidents. We therefore hope that charges will be brought against the perpetrators and that the assault is treated with the seriousness it deserves.

We would also like to express our concern with regards to allegations made by the mother of the victim with regards to the difficulties and harassment experienced by the daughter in school when her sexual orientation became known, particularly as this seems to have involved inappropriate behaviour by teachers. We urge the Department of Educational Services to investigate such claims and reiterate once again the need to introduce clear policies and guidelines that protect LGBT students and staff from harassment and discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Those LGBT people who have experienced similar incidents or require support are encouraged to contact MGRM on support@maltagayrights.org or call the National Gay Helpline: on 9925 5559.

Gabi Calleja, coordinator of the MGRM stated: “This is a shocking act of violence that continues to affirm the dangers that the LGBT community faces in coming out.”

Neil Falzon, from aditus, added: “We’re further concerned at the girl’s current safety and hope that she is offered adequate protection from revictimisation, including during any criminal investigations and court proceedings.”