Calls for legal rights for grandparents denied access to their grandchildren topped the agenda on Monday during a Grandparents’ Parliament at the House of Representatives in Valletta.

Philip Chircop, founder of the Fondazzjoni Nanniet Malta, which organised the forum, spoke of the pain felt by the many grandparents who were cut off from their grandchildren by the children’s parents, sometimes as a result of separation and divorce.

Earlier this year, the EU Court of Justice ruled that the notion of rights of access refers not only to parents and their children, but also others with whom it was important for the child to maintain a personal relationship, including grandparents.

Parliament also heard a petition in May for grandparents’ access rights to be enshrined in law.

Mr Chircop said that while there could be, in particular cases, legitimate reasons for grandparents not to see their grandchildren, it was clear that children benefited from contact, and that neither they nor their grandparents should suffer as a result of problems in the parents’ marriage.

The forum also heard from experts on how cases of parental alienation - where one parent psychologically manipulates the child against the other - could impact grandparents, as well as other challenges faced by the elderly.

The Grandparents’ Parliament is an annual event which this year coincided with the five-year anniversary of the setting-up of the Fondazzjoni Nanniet Malta.

Opening the session Speaker Anġlu Farrugia highlighted the vital role grandparents played in society and the need to safeguard their dignity and quality of life.