D e v e l o pme n t : E q u a l i t i e s a n d s u s t a i n a b i l i t y • The launching of an online consultation platform for the posting of parliamentary bills to allow citizens to submit their comments, questions and suggestions at a stage when they can still influence the shape and direction of government policy Civil liberties The incoming Labour administration, which projected a new vision across the country as a movement of progressive forces in the run up to the last national elections, lost no time in pushing forward its pledge to update and modernise the traditional Maltese mindset in the field of civil liberties. This is no easy task in a deeply conservative and traditional society that, despite EU membership since 2004, retains a rather strong attachment to concepts and values that are manifestly at odds with contemporary European perspectives and outlooks. Suffice it to say that divorce was only introduced in Malta in 2011 and this only after two MPs presented a private members’ bill and a referendum was held. On the strength of its mandate, the Labour administration vigorously launched a plan of action based on a series of reforms that would radically enhance civil liberties in Malta. One of the first steps by the incoming administration in April 2013 was to solve the case of Joanne Cassar, a transgender woman who had waged a protracted battle against the former government to be able to marry her male partner. Although the Constitutional Court in Malta had ruled that the ban on transgender marriage violated the right to marry under the European Convention on Human Rights while the Court of Appeal had also recognised that Ms Cassar’s fundamental rights had been breached when she was denied the right to marry, no substantive remedy was provided. This led Ms Cassar to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, asking for effective remedy and compensation. The Labour administration lost no time to reach an out-ofcourt settlement with Ms Cassar by means of an agreement which noted that she had the right to marry a man and that she was also entitled to compensation. A few weeks later the necessary amendments were enacted to the Civil Code by the House of Representatives to enable people who undergo gender re-assignment to marry the partners of the opposite sex according to their acquired gender, while the Public Registry in Malta was no longer able to bar these persons from their right to marry. In this way the marriage rights of transgender persons were fully recognised by the Maltese authorities and Maltese legislation was brought in line with European law. The Maltese Government considers the new legal provisions to grant civil rights to LGBT people as an obligation. This is, however, only a small step forward since work now needs to be taken to change the attitudes and mentality of citizens in homes, workplaces and schools, and to strengthen the culture of rights, equality and respect for human dignity. At the same time the government’s commitment to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons was evidenced by the presence of Malta at the first international ministerial forum organised by the Government of the Netherlands on 17 May 2013, in The Hague to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Malta was one of the signatories of a joint declaration calling on the European Commission to adopt a common policy approach on a European level to combat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. True to its electoral promise, the government also set up the LGBT Consultative Council with the specific task of giving recommendations and preparing legislation involving the LGBT community in Malta. The first priority of the council, which is composed of representatives of NGOs involved in LGBT issues, has been to prepare legislation on civil unions by persons of the same sex, which is due to be debated and approved by parliament by the end of 2013. Following this, a gender-identity bill will be presented to parliament. These initiatives are in line with government policy to uphold equal rights and to respect all people in the context of diversity. This policy is also based on the recognition that the people themselves should embrace diversity and apply the rules and legislation enacted by governments to protect their citizens. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 102 Dr Helena Dalli is Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, Malta.
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