Discriminatory law hinders couple's adoption process

A married couple is not being allowed to complete the adoption process because of a law the court declared discriminatory last year.

Engineer Marco Cremona and his wife Joanne have filed a judicial protest claiming that the government's support agency, Appoġġ, had acted illegally when it stopped them from completing an adoption course by evoking a law that had been declared anti-constitutional.

Article 114 of the Civil Code does not allow married couples to adopt before the third anniversary of their wedding but does not impose timeframes for single people and cohabiting couples.

Although Parliament has a Bill before it seeking to make the necessary changes, the couple are claiming they were suffering the repercussions of bureaucratic delays.

The couple filed the protest in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Prime Minister, the Family Minister, the Department of Social Welfare Standards and Appoġġ.

They pointed out that the discriminatory law had already been challenged by another married couple who took their case to the Constitutional Court. In April 2009, the court found that the law was in breach of the right to family life and ordered the matter to be rectified, even outlining how the amendment should be worded.

The Cremonas got married in June 2008 and, soon after hearing about the court judgment, wrote a letter to former Social Policy Minister John Dalli asking for permission to start the adoption course. The couple were informed they could begin the first phase of the course, which they completed. When they were ready to start the second phase, consisting of home visits by members of Appoġġ, they were informed they were not eligible for adoption since they had not been married for three years.

The Cremonas argued that Appoġġ had acted illegally when it evoked a law that had been declared anti-constitutional. Moreover, the couple added, it was not fair that they suffered because the government was taking long to change the law.

Lawyer Edward Zammit Lewis, who is representing the couple together with lawyer Michael Camilleri, said that, according to law, the changes should have been made within six months of the court judgment. Although the law had to be changed through the parliamentary process, this was taking too long, he stressed.

"My clients are suffering because of bureaucracy... This is not a matter where there is disagreement... All sides (of the House) seem to agree that the amendment is necessary," he said.

Last year, Appoġġ received 86 applications for adoption: 75 from couples, 10 from single women and one from a single man.

According to the agency's adoption procedure, applicants are first given an explanation of the procedures and legal requirements they should follow. Eligible applicants then move on to a compulsory preparatory course spread over seven weeks. After the course, social workers within the Appoġġ Adoption Service make home visits and meet the applicants to carry out the necessary assessments. A report is then drawn up and sent to the Adoption Board, which is independent of Appoġġ. The board approves or refuses the application, a decision that would have to be approved by the law courts.

Once the adoption goes through, Appoġġ monitors the progress of the child and supports the adoptive parents when necessary.