The legal protection and enforcement of the children’s right to family life in Malta

Abstract

All children, in some way or another, struggle to enjoy the respect to their family life as individuals. Through the analysis of court judgements involving parents and their demands impacting their children, either directly or indirectly, this study shall examine the approach adopted by the European Court of Human Rights and other judicial systems in resolving conflicts between the legal custodians in accordance with Article 8 of the ECHR. The author found that the Maltese state is also being urged to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Protocol on a Communications Procedure. Meanwhile, the international instruments ratified by the Maltese state are binding on the national institutions. Under the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the child’s right to equal and regular contact with both parents is also protected. Nevertheless, the subjective nature of the application of the principle of equality is observed whenever parental responsibility is not fulfilled. The study shall look into the criteria when the interference of the public authorities is justified at law. In search of the legal remedies available to the children, whenever the authorities fail to ensure the timely and effective protection to the right to family life to every child living in Malta, the author shall assess the independence of the public persons responsible to protect the best interests of children. It is worth noting how the effects of the decisions taken by the institutions make or break the quality of the child’s relationship with both parents involved in the dispute and other family members with whom the child would have developed close personal ties. The study shall probe into the criteria which establish such family ties as the basis for a claim brought before a court of law invoking the right of every child to respect for their family life. This study also aims to identify the responsible persons mentioned in the most prevalent substantive and procedural legal provisions and the interpretation of the courts in securing the right to family life to all children in an equal and effective manner. The author suggests the application of existing procedures within the national legal framework to better preserve the children’s right to family life in Malta.