Anna Mallia | Wednesday, 17 December 2008

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Registration of divorce

In Malta there is confusion on how divorces are registered: there is no law which regulates the registration of divorce, so do not be surprised if you wake up one day and find yourself divorced without knowing it.
Abroad both parties have to go to the Director of Public Registry to register their divorce. In Malta this is not the case, as registration of divorce is allowed by either party to the marriage. We are witnessing cases of one spouse registering for divorce without the knowledge of the other spouse and without even the other spouse ever having been notified with the papers requesting divorce. It is so easy to register for divorce here because the Registrar has no rules binding him as to how and when can he register divorces from abroad.
The Marriage Act is supposed to order the Registrar of Marriages to register those divorces from abroad where either spouse is resident. What is happening is that one or both parties agrees to register for divorce abroad, stating that they are resident in the country where they are registering for divorce, and such divorce is automatically registered in Malta, notwithstanding the fact that the parties are actually resident in Malta.
What is also happening is that one party registers for divorce abroad stating that he is a resident, when in actual fact he is resident in Malta and gives a ‘false’ address in Malta which is really that of the other spouse; so that the court is given the impression that the spouse received the divorce papers but did not reply and therefore did not contest and the divorce is given.
Who knows how many of us are divorced without even knowing it, and if they ever get to know it will only be when they need their marriage certificate, in which they will find out that they are divorced.
Although the Marriage Act does not recognize Muslim divorces which are not given by a competent court, the Registrar has recognised such ‘talaq’ divorces, as they are known, without any hesitation. This is contrary to the Marriage Act but the Registrar does not revoke that decision but tells you that if you have any queries about his action, you can go to court and get a judgement.
In Malta there is no law regulating the registration of divorce and separations. In effect, separations are not registered in the public registry in the same way divorces or annulments are, because the marriage certificate of a separated couple does not actually show such ‘separation’. I cannot understand why divorces are registered and separations are not. The director argues that separations do not allow you to remarry, while annulments and divorces do; but it is also true that records are records and separations must be registered as well.
The need for the enactment of a Divorce and Separation Registration Act is essential more than ever because clear rules must be established on when the Registrar can register foreign divorces, and to oblige the director to register marriage separations. We cannot continue with the policy adopted by the Registrar of Marriages in passing the buck to the complaining in cases where the complainant feels aggrieved by the decision of the Registrar to register that divorce.
We cannot continue with the situation where certain divorces are registered without any complications. We cannot either continue with the situation where one party registers for divorce without the knowledge of the other. Neither can there continue to be the non-obligation of the Registrar to notify the Immigration and Nationality office of the registration of divorces by foreigners who obtained their nationality precisely because they married a Maltese citizen.
In Malta we all know that nationality comes cheap and rarely does citizenship get withdrawn. Other countries treasure their nationality more than us and it does not come automatically after five years of being married to a Maltese without even learning anything that is Maltese, except for their body language.
How does the citizenship division allow foreigners to continue to be Maltese notwithstanding that they blatantly show us that they married Maltese for the sake of citizenship? I have had cases where I wrote to the Director asking him to withdraw citizenship but the reply I got was that once it’s given it cannot be withdrawn.
So now we have a situation when we are making it easy for foreigners to become Maltese, and easy for them to divorce from the Maltese. I have no doubt that the love for Maltese will increase even more when come 1 January, the Maltese will be able to travel to the United States without a visa.
There is no doubt that the situation calls for a complete overhaul of the Marriage Act or for the introduction of a new law regulating the registration of separations and divorce, which must include the obligation to inform the immigration and citizenship office about such registration.
We cannot continue to live in a situation where each government agency or department fends for itself, and most of the time destroys what the other builds. It is important to create one homogenous approach to the problem so that abuses are controlled.
In the meantime they continue to make hay while the sun shines, and continue to marry Maltese and stay married for five years, get their citizenship, go to their country and get divorced without the knowledge of their Maltese spouse, register their divorce in Malta without the knowledge of their Maltese spouse, continue to be Maltese and the Maltese, as in most cases, continue to be treated as second class citizens. We cannot allow this colonial mentality to haunt us anymore!

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