Transsexual insists on her right to marry
A man who had undergone gender realignment surgery to become a woman yesterday filed a constitutional application in the First Hall of the Civil Court claiming that the refusal by the Director of Public Registry to allow her to marry a man was in violation of her fundamental human rights.
Joanne Cassar filed her application against the Director of Public Registry and the Attorney General.
She said that after undergoing surgery she had requested the courts to declare that she was a woman and to effect the necessary changes to her birth certificate.
In June 2006, the First Hall of the Civil Court upheld her request and her birth certificate was amended to show that she was now a woman.
Ms Cassar had applied for banns to marry a man but her application was denied by the Director of Public Registry. She had asked the courts to overturn the decision and her case was decided in her favour by the Court of Voluntary Jurisdiction.
However, the director contested the ruling and, last May, the First Hall of the Civil Court overturned the first court's ruling and held that the annotation that had taken place to Ms Cassar's birth certificate following the June 2006 judgment was only there to protect her privacy. The annotation did not entitle her to be considered as a woman for the purposes of marriage.
In her constitutional application, Ms Cassar said that the judgment was in violation of her fundamental human rights. Case law of the European Court of Human Rights had established that one could not, for biological reasons, not recognise the legal effects of a sex change. Maltese law did not recognise the new sex acquired by transsexuals and this was in violation of her fundamental human rights, Ms Cassar argued.
She concluded by calling upon the First Hall of the Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, to declare that her rights had been violated and to declare that the director could not refuse to publish the banns for her to marry a man.
Lawyers Josè Herrera and David Camilleri appeared for Ms Cassar.
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9 Comments
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Joe Xuereb
Oct 27th 2008, 18:37
@Dr Attard - Thank you for stating the obvious. And your point is?
Dr. Ing. P. Attard
Oct 26th 2008, 08:08
Being a trans-sexual isn´t a case of waking up one morning and wishing to change gender.
Joe Xuereb
Oct 23rd 2008, 23:41
Transexuals have my sympathy but it is unfair to comment on any one case without knowing
the full background (e.g. details of pre-operation treatment if any. So many want the instant gratification of gender re-alignment and bypass the treatment necessary before the surgery itself). Invariably, they go from one nightmare existence into another one. What intrigues is this belief that being a biological woman and getting married is some kind of guarantee of happiness and fulfilment. If the woman happens to be surgically constructed, the hazard is that much greater. It is a great risk to act on impulse and believe that marrying someone who will consistently behave and be what you want them to be is somehow going to bring you salvation. This conditional investment in another person does not work. The maxim comes to mind that says, 'be careful what you pray for, it may come true'. Just a thought but worth pondering nevertheless. People often do need protection from themselves but naturally, this should never be done with prejudice and out of bigotry.
Jason Spiteri
Oct 23rd 2008, 21:28
what's wrong with you guys!!!! I believe that if you are in love with someone, you deserve to be happy and if they both are in love that should have the right to get Married. Ms Cassar I wish you the best in luck and If you cannot get it right with maltese authorities you should go abroad and get married there. best of luck
AFabri
Oct 23rd 2008, 17:11
People in Power did not realize that by simple common sense can make others happy....the most important is that they want to show that they are utterly technically correct.............maybe they do not feel that satisfaction to let happiness around them .
This is about putting religion in practice after all.
If there's love and commitment, why there is no marriage.....being man,woman, gays,priests !!and maybe one day aliens too.
Denis Catania
Oct 23rd 2008, 17:05
Let her get married. If they keep breaking your civil rights. Come out to Vegas and get married with a bang.Good luck Ms.Cassar.
Paul Barrett
Oct 23rd 2008, 14:44
No one should have to go through this prolonged, humiliating and sadistic bureaucratic hassle.
Enough is enough, allow this poor woman some happiness in what has so far been a traumatic life correcting an error of nature. We are not all lucky enough to be born as we would wish, some live with the error, others like Joanne Cassar have the guts and conviction to try and do something about it.
We currently have a situation where she is outwardly physically a woman, internally mentally a woman.
Good luck to her; hopefully the authorities will not be pedantic, think outside the box and allow her to move on with her life and get married.
vincent magro
Oct 23rd 2008, 11:44
il-hajja m'hi facli ghall hadd,specjalment ghall dawk li jitwieldu jew isibu ruhom il barra mill-parametri tan-norma.issa x'ghanda tkun l-atitudni taghna lejn dawn il-persuni? wiehed ghandu dejjem jipromovi u jincentiva forom taz-zwieg tradizzjonali, jigifieri bejn ragel u mara li twieldu hekk,izda x'hemm hazin li l-istat(u jien nemmen anke l-knisja)jaghraf lil joanne bhala mara bid-drittijiet kollha li l-ligi taghti lil kull mara?x'teddida jista jofri zwieg bhal dan?tahsbu li l-irgiel hekk imsejha normali se jiffullaw biex jaghmlu sex change biex ikollhom id-dritt jizzewgu ragel iehor?issa jekk l-istat ma jaghrafx lil joanne bhala mara u jikkunsidraha bhala ragel,lest li jaghti l-barka tieghu biex tizzewweg mara?jew jekk le x'qed jissuggerixxi l-istat?jien nittama li jipprevali s-sens komun u bhalma ahna nikkuraw parti minn gisimna li ma tkunx qed tahdem sew akkost li nuzaw metodi u proceduri li ma nuzahomx ma partijiet ohra li qed jahdmu sew, andna bhala socjeta nuzaw metodi ohra li jikkomodaw persuni ohra li ic-cirkustanzi taghhom huma differenti minn taghna.
Ramon Casha
Oct 23rd 2008, 10:46
Give this woman what the Public Registry has stolen.