The legal aspects of the institute of dowry : a comparative study

Abstract

I have treated at some depth in this dissertation, the topic on the institute of Dowry, as it is an issue which, among other aspects of Family law, is currently being debated upon in Parliament. The Bill on Family law of the 12th May 1986 proposes to retain dowry on a voluntary basis, rather than as an obligation on the parents to confer a dowry on their daughter who has no means of her own. The White Paper presented in Parliament by the Minister of Justice in July 1985 and based in its general attitude on the Italian amendments of May 1975, which expressed the view that the institute of dowry was now anachronistic and antiquated with the modern social context, proposed to abolish the institute completely. The milder attitude of the Bill, which is closer to the French amendments of July 1965, reflects the opinion of the general public, and shows more respect to an institute which, though it demands to be updated, asks to be respected as an institute embedded in Maltese marriage tradition.