Justice Minister Chris Said yesterday defended the Government’s decision to introduce the system of guardianship through amendments to the Civil Code rather than have a new Guardianship Act. He said they had taken the advice of the Bill Drafting Group as otherwise confusion would have reigned supreme.
The minister was answering Opposition criticism when winding up the debate in second reading of the Civil Code (Amendment) Bill, which introduces the system of guardianship for persons with disability. Both Opposition spokesperson on persons with disability Justyne Caruana and Opposition spokesman on social policy Carmelo Abela had said they would have favoured a new Act to introduce the new provisions.
Dr Said said making the changes through existing codes was a matter of form and not of substance.
It had been recommended to amend the Civil Code because guardianship was an institute building on the institutes of interdiction and incapacitation and therefore it made more sense for the Code to deal with the three institutes.
There would have been a great confusion had these three institutes been contained in different pieces of legislation. Codification of laws made laws more accessible.
Dr Said said there had been a great confusion in rent laws, with many pieces of legislation. The Government felt such situation should be avoided as it would have been a minefield for lawyers and for the citizens.
By placing guardianship under the Civil Code, it would be given a higher status. While it was true that the Government spoke of a Guardianship Act, it had always focused on substance rather than on form. Referring to the fact that the Government took so long to present the Bill before Parliament, Dr Said said that the Government sought to have a wide consultation with all stakeholders.
It had also consulted on employment opportunity and on accessibility of persons with disability.
The Bill was part of the Government’s agenda with respect to persons with a disability. So much so that the Government would soon open an education centre in Pembroke for students with a disability. It had also invested in learning support assistants and in computer programmes.
The Government had also worked to have residential homes for persons with a disability. Such residential homes in Qawra and Marsalforn would soon be open, he said. The Government was giving financial assistance and provided human resources for such services to be offered to persons with a disability.
It was also helping people with a disability to keep living with their relatives. The Maltese speech engine was of the best quality and was free to the persons who needed it.
Meanwhile, persons with a disability would be given working experience with local councils and non-profit organisations. While the project ME2 was aimed to help 230 persons with disability to help them develop their employment skills, it helped 430 persons.
Concluding, Dr Said said that the introduction of guardianship in the Civil Code was an important step to ensure the best protection for people with a disability.
The Bill was approved during the second reading unanimously.