Proposed amendments to the Civil Code on the award of maintenance payable to spouses, partners and/or children

Abstract

The scope of the present work is to carry out research which will ultimately help to propose amendments to the law dealing with the award of maintenance. Such amendments would affect not only the legislation but also the procedure which is currently being followed. In this respect the first chapter shall introduce the reader to the concept of maintenance as a whole while going into detail with regards to spousal maintenance and child maintenance, since maintenance which may be due to other family members shall not be delved into. The second chapter shall go on to describe and discuss the whole process which currently leads to the award of maintenance and also the enforcement method used in the failure to effect payment thereof. Chapters 3 and 4 will consequently deal with a brief study and comparative discussion between the methods and laws in other legal systems in establishing the quantum of spousal and child maintenance and those which are currently being followed in Malta. Focusing mainly on the components of our system which are weak and are therefore not as efficient as one would hope. The last chapter shall constitute a synopsis of all the amendments being proposed with regards to the study which was carried out. As a result of this exercise a number of defects in our legal system are singled out and the changes being suggested are believed to be a step forward towards solving them.