Defining parental alienation : an evaluation of judgements delivered by Maltese Courts between 2010 and 2022

Abstract

This paper will examine the notions of parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome, which have been largely debated over the years, especially during the last decade. These two notions will be examined parallelly with Richard Gardner’s eight grounds of parental alienation which in turn will be further dissected in accordance with local jurisprudence. Despite the fact that these are silent phenomena within the Maltese legislation, the judgements will nevertheless prove the prevalence of such. According to Gardner’s beliefs, if these eight grounds are present, then one may say that the parties concerned, namely the target parent and the minor or minors, suffer from parental alienation syndrome. This paper will move on to adopt three approaches. It will first review judgements delivered by our courts by date, that is according to the timeframe in which they were delivered. A thematic approach will then be adopted so as to ascertain whether our judges presiding over the Maltese courts have been consistent in their own judgements. Finally, a link will be created with the second chapter of this paper as the grounds established by Gardner will be examined in line with local jurisprudence. Through such approaches, the author will highlight the decisions given by our courts, mainly those concerning custody of the minor or minors. Finally, this paper will encapsulate the main points emanating from this paper and the author will seek to suggest the way forward for both the legislature and the judiciary, as well as the importance of raising awareness on the issue. However, awareness alone will not do the work. Reference was also made to Brazilian law in order to shed light on the approach which can be adopted by Malta to address this issue. The applicability of Brazilian law to the Maltese scenario will be proven as the examples provided by this law will be tested in parallel with local judgements.