Civil marriages on Maltese-registered ships to be recognised

Civil marriages performed in international waters on Maltese-registered cruise liners will be registered in Malta, in terms of a Bill given a second reading in Parliament tonight.

Justice Minister Tonio Borg said the Bill featured a range of amendments to civil law.

One of the most important amendments will enable men to file an action for disavowal of children beyond the time limit currently allowed by law.

Dr Borg said the amendments followed a European Court ruling. To date a man had six months from the birth of a child to his wife to prove that he was not the father. It was now being laid down that a court may allow the husband sufficient additional time to disavow paternity after he learns that the child is not his, even if that happens more than six months after the birth. In allowing an extension of the time limit, the court will have to consider the rights of the man and the child.

A child carrying the surname of a man found not to have been its father will be able to retain the surname unless a court decides otherwise. However normal rights of succession will not apply.

The child may, however, assume the mother’s maiden name.

Turning to the amendments on Civil Marriage, Dr Borg said that to date civil marriages could only be registered in Malta if they took place in Malta proper, before a marriage registrar. Now such marriages could take place in international waters on board Maltese-registered cruise ships under the authority of the master.

Dr Borg said another aspect of the Bill amended the Identity Cards Act in view of Malta’s membership of the Schengen area. He observed that one could now freely travel across Europe using the identity card. The Bill was therefore laying down that when a court prohibited a person from travelling or when a person was on bail, the police could withhold the holder’s identity card and issue a new one which clearly stated that the holder could not travel.

Anglu Farrugia (MLP) said the opposition agreed with these amendments although one hoped there would not be many cases of disavowal. He agreed that the child could retain the surname of a man found not to be its father. There could be cases where a man was say, 30, when he found out the truth about his 'father'. It made no sense to change the surname at that stage, although rights of succession would change.

He suggested that civil marriages should be allowed on all Maltese-registered vessels because there could be circumstances where a marriage had to be performed quickly.

Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici stressed that although civil marriages on board cruise ships would be recognised, the other normal requirements for a civil marriage still had to be observed.