The enactment of divorce provisions in Maltese legislation : from the initial proposal to the final act

Abstract

This thesis purports to provide an in-depth examination and analysis of the process that led to the enactment of Act XIV of 2011, which Act amended the Civil Code and introduced provisions into Maltese Legislation. The first part provides a general introduction to divorce and also a brief analysis of the local situation prior to the introduction of this Act. The next part deals with the process that led to the divorce issue being tackled on a national level and that eventually culminated into a Referendum through which the majority voted in favour of its introduction. Consequently, provisions were enacted allowing one to obtain a divorce subject to certain requirements laid down by law. This thesis will then examine the development of the divorce provisions, from how they were proposed in the original Private Members Bill, to the subsequent texts put forward and to their final rendering, as laid down in Act XIV. In this respect, an examination of the difference in approach and content between the different proposals will be conducted. The next section will then consider in detail the workings of the Parliamentary Committee as well as the Parliamentary Debate Stage. Particular attention will be paid to the main areas of focus of the debates within the Committee, as well as to the parts of the draft bill which were changed, and the reasons behind such changes. Some of the main divorce provisions will then be identified and their effects and implications analysed. The latter part will put forward general conclusions based on the research conducted, as well as a short identification of some forward-looking views on the workings and problems that might arise in relation to the amendments to the Civil Code introduced through Act XIV of 2011.