The ‘Civil Unions Act, 2014’ and its effect on Civil Law aspects

Abstract

In view of the recently enacted Civil Unions law, this thesis seeks to assess the law and its effects on Civil Law. Chapter one introduces the reader to various family institutions in an attempt to aid the reader with the better understanding of certain concepts discussed further along in this thesis. The purpose for this chapter is to subtly highlight the departure from traditional nuclear families and the emergence of diverse family structures, which are more flexible, accommodating, and all embracing. Chapter two presents itself as a background and history leading up to the 14th February of this year, which includes all the major developments starting from the decriminalization of homosexual acts in 1973 up until the Parliamentary debates just weeks before enactment. The said developments pave the way for the pivotal focal point of this thesis, that is Chapter three which is all that the title says it is- an in depth analysis of the Civil Unions law, with an article by article approach as well as an exploration of some of the main Civil law aspects which Civil Unions touches upon, such as Family, Maintenance, Adoption, Succession, Separation/Divorce amongst others. In Chapter four, European legislation is discussed and the local situation is compared in a detailed manner to that of other European countries through detailed and up to date studies by the International advocacy group ILGA Europe. The studies and statistics outline Malta’s previous position prior to the introduction of Civil Unions and how this has changed following April 2014. Finally in this thesis’s conclusion, certain topics deemed ancillary to Civil Unions and the attainment of equal rights are discussed with the scope of educating the reader on the ways in which Maltese legislation can still improve.