Divorce : through the eyes of the child in the Maltese context

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child highlights that every child has the right to be heard and their views are to be taken seriously according with their age and maturity. Likewise, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union highlights full recognition of children rights which includes the child’s right to voice their opinion and also to participate in any decision which affects and concerns them. Also, the Maltese Civil Code envisages that every decision made, must be in the best interest of the child, that every child has the right to be taken care of and that the child has a right for a child advocate. This paper engages into an examination of various references to the concept of the child’s rights throughout the Maltese legislation. The author also evaluates various provisions in the Maltese legislation vis-à-vis the rights of the child, in attempt to establish whether the given provisions effectively protects the child’s rights and best interests. The paper starts off by a brief examination of the legal definition of ‘the child’ by reference to the Maltese Civil Code and also delves into other concepts such as the best interest of the child. Then, the paper moves on to the Literature Review section which focuses on relevant articles and also legal instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the area of the Maltese Civil Code dealing with the rights of the child in combination with the issue of divorce and divorce proceedings. The third section of this term paper consists of the Methodology, establishing that interviews are conducted with professionals such as lawyers, who have experience in divorce proceedings related to children. The Methodology section is followed by the Findings Section, which consists of the results of the aforementioned interviews, with a profound analysis of the findings in conjunction with the arguments made in the Literature Review section. Lastly, this paper concludes with the author putting a forward number of conclusions in order to strengthen the arguments made throughout the paper.