Minors having children

Abstract

In spite of the fact that up to a few decades ago, minors having children were accepted as the norm in our society, today the situation has changed quite drastically. Nowadays, a minor who finds herself in such a situation is an exception and runs the risk of being shunned by society. To make matters worse, minors finding themselves in this difficult situation are not afforded any protection whatsoever by our legislation. The aim of this thesis, is to bring to light the reality that these minors go through, and to make an awareness of the legal problems that they constantly face. At present, the lack of information regarding these minors' legal position is so great, that not even they know about certain problems until they come face to face with them. They are unprepared for the legal consequences of their actions, and once they are faced with them, they do not have anywhere to tum, because there is no particular law that grants them any rights as parents. In Malta, there is as yet no case law whatsoever relating to the topic of my thesis. The main reason is that minors are not allowed to take their case to Court, and furthermore, should their case be brought to our Court's attention by their parents or legal guardians, there are still no rights at law which a judge can grant to the minor, since both the minor mother and the minor father are still under parental authority. This brings us to a point where we must try to provide for these minors without making use of precedents, but just by being human and trying to understand the position they find themselves in, and the legal problems they are faced with, without having any recourse to justice. Thus, throughout this thesis, I will be examining the relative legal points appertaining to this particular situation, and making proposals for the amendments that are needed in order to be able to provide legal protection to minors who find themselves in a world of adults where they are not legally acknowledged.