The Ombudsman has welcomed an appeals court's decision to allow a child who was born at sea to be registered in Malta and called for birth registration laws to be revisted once again. 

The decision, reached by the court almost two weeks ago, means Muna Hatra, now 8 and living in France, can finally have her birth registered. Muna was born at sea, shortly before her mother Chana and other migrants crossing the Mediterranean were rescued by a Russian vessel and brought to Malta. 

Registration laws in the Civil Code were amended in 2015 to allow the public registry to register children for humanitarian reasons if they are born at sea on an unregistered boat, provided Malta is the first form of disembarkation after birth.

But in a statement issued today, the Ombudsman noted that despite the amendments, existing laws "eventualities did not adequately cover all cases including those of a child born in such circumstances similar to those of applicant."  

He called for the law to revisited and clarified, "to provide for the registration by the Director of the Public Registry of the birth of all stateless children born at sea who are brought to Malta as their first port of call," adding that safeguards should be introduced to ensure exceptional registration was not abused of.