‘Offenders register should only cover cases before the courts’

A register for people found guilty of crimes involving minors should only cover adjudicated cases and pending ones, according to voluntary organisation Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl.

The organisation, which works mostly among prison inmates and their families, said the proposed law, which provides for a Register of the Protection of Minors, should not affect cases which at the time of entry into force are still awaiting judgment. This would prejudice the rights of the accused as enshrined under the general principles of law existing today.

The organisation welcomed the legislative proposals set out in the Protection of Minors (Registration) Bill.

“Knowing that most crimes against children are committed by relatives or others close to the family, Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl hopes this legislation will not instil in people a sense of false security by thinking all such perpetrators are now known by the authorities,” it said.

The proposals set out in the Bill now before Parliament provides for a register to list people found guilty of criminal acts against minors. The courts are being given the authority to issue an interim measure listing an accuser’s name on the register even before a case is concluded.