Malta should withdraw its submission against Joanne Cassar at the European Court of Human Rights and recognise transgendered persons’ right to marry, Alternattiva Demokratika is insisting.
A delegation of AD representatives, led by chairman Michael Briguglio, met Ms Cassar this afternoon.
Ms Cassar’s case dates back to 2006, when she and her then partner applied for marriage banns, only for the Marriage Registrar to refuse to issue them because she was born male, even though she had legally changed her gender to female.
She won a court case at the First Hall of the Civil Court in 2010, only to face a constitutional appeal from the Attorney General. The following year, the Constitutional Court overturned the original decision, arguing that changing Ms Cassar’s name and gender in the birth certificate did not mean she was recognised as a woman, but was only intended to avoid embarrassment and protect her right to privacy.
Undeterred, Ms Cassar took the case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that her fundamental right for a private and family life and her fundamental right to marry were being breached.
At a political activity earlier this week, however, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi promised that if re-elected, a PN government would address the issues faced by transgender people in the next legislature, an issue not specifically addressed in the PN programme. He had been asked to comment on the government’s failure to move the Gender Identity Bill presented by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, and claimed that the reason for this was a lack of time.
But the government has not withdrawn its submission against Ms Cassar at the ECHR, prompting AD to urge it to do just that.
“Not only did the Government fail to progress the legislation that was tabled through a private member’s bill; but it actually fought Joanne Cassar tooth and nail all the way to the Constitutional Court to deny her the fundamental right to marry her male partner. This in spite of clear ECHR case-law dating back to 2002 which Malta is obliged to respect.”
In 2002, the ECHR had ruled that the British government had breached fundamental human rights in a similar case brought by Christine Goodwin.
Dr Briguglio also stressed that if elected to parliament, his party would table legislation to recognise trans people’s gender without any delays or invasion of privacy.