The legal protection of refugees in Malta

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the scope of the protection provided by Malta's new Refugees Act, in order to determine the extent to which the Act will effectively improve the situation of refugees and asylum-seekers in Malta. It concludes that the Refugees Act is a milestone in the history of refugee protection in Malta, as it marks a qualitative shift, from a system based largely on humanitarianism and governmental discretion, to one that offers legal protection to refugees and asylum-seekers and affords some guarantees of respect for their rights. However, on a practical level, the Act will bring few real improvements to the situation of refugees and other protected persons in Malta, as they already enjoy most of the benefits granted by the Act. The major difference will be that once the Act comes into force they become legal entitlements not simply benefits. The rights contained in the Act are extremely basic, and fall far below the basic minimum recommended by the 1951 Convention. Moreover, the Act fails to tackle a number of issues of fundamental importance. The most important of these issues are without doubt those relating to internal freedom of movement of asylum-seekers and to the right to work or to be assisted in order to be able to live with dignity.