Maltese citizen wins damages for delay in marriage registration

A Maltese man of Syrian origin will be paid €3,000 damages by the government for breaching his fundamental human rights by taking two years to register his marriage to a Russian woman.

The European Court of Human Rights found that, by delaying the issue of such documentation, the government had breached Mazen Dadouch's right to respect for private and family life according to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

"Lack of such documentation would make processing of certain requests, such as applications for social or tax benefits, lengthier and more complex, if at all possible," the court ruled.

It ordered the government to fork out a further €3,000 to cover the costs of the case.

Mr Dadouch was granted Maltese citizenship in 1993 when he married a Maltese woman. The marriage was annulled, however, in March 2002 after a court found that it was a marriage of convenience. Mr Dadouch kept his Maltese citizenship according to the law in force at the time. A year later, in July 2003, he married a Russian woman while in Moscow and, on June 30, 2004, he applied for the marriage to be recorded by the Public Registry in Malta.

Despite the fact that he had a Maltese identity card and a passport, the Public Registry asked him to submit a letter from the Department of Citizenship confirming that he was a Maltese national. However, the department refused to issue the letter. He then turned to the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts which, in May 2005, directed the Public Registry to register the marriage.

The decision was revoked by the Court of Appeal a year later on grounds that his passport and identity card were not sufficient proof of his citizenship. Then, in June 2005, he filed a constitutional case in the First Hall of the Civil Court claiming that his right to respect for private and family life had been breached.

The court rejected the application saying the Public Registry had not categorically refused to register his marriage but had requested backing documentation.

In October 2006, Mr Dadouch went to the Constitutional Court, which also turned down his claim but, in the meantime, on November 9, 2006, his marriage was registered, two years after his first application.

Mr Dadouch took the matter to the European Court of Human Rights and claimed compensation for having been deprived of his right to private life and family life for two years.

The Strasbourg court found that the refusal to register Mr Dadouch's marriage would clearly have had an impact on his private life. Therefore, the two-year delay in registering his marriage was in breach of his right to family and private life.

Lawyer Joseph Brincat represented Mr Dadouch.

Attorney General Silvio Camilleri represented the government.