Repubblika welcomes the Government’s proposal to amend the Constitution so that disability is expressly included among the grounds on which discrimination is prohibited.
This is a positive step. Persons with disabilities should enjoy the full protection of the Constitution, and the law should leave no doubt that discrimination against them is unacceptable.
However, we do not understand why a constitutional amendment of such importance is being handled in this unnecessarily secretive manner. According to media reports, stakeholders and the Opposition will be given only seven days to study the bill before the parliamentary debate begins. Constitutional rights are not political trophies. They require serious scrutiny, public consultation, and the involvement of those most directly affected by them.
Repubblika also reminds the Government that Malta’s framework for protection against discrimination remains incomplete in one very important respect.
Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights establishes a general right not to be discriminated against by public authorities. Unlike Article 14 of the Convention, which applies only when another Convention right is engaged, Protocol No. 12 provides broader protection against discrimination in the enjoyment of rights provided by law and in a person’s dealings with public authorities.
Malta ratified Protocol No. 12 in December 2015, and it entered into force for Malta on 1 April 2016. Yet ten years later, the Protocol has still not been incorporated into Maltese law. This means that Maltese citizens cannot rely on it before Maltese courts.
This is not a technical matter. The Constitutional Court has already confirmed, including in the case of Jonathan Ferris v Commissioner of Police, that Protocol No. 12 cannot be applied by Maltese courts because Parliament has not made it part of Malta’s domestic law.
This omission weakens the protection available to people who suffer discrimination. It forces them to seek remedies in Strasbourg for rights that should be enforceable here in Malta, before our own courts.
Fine gestures and declarations are not enough. Rights must have effective legal force. If the Government truly believes in equality, it should immediately publish the draft disability amendment, allow proper consultation, and, without further delay, incorporate Protocol No. 12 into Maltese law.
A government that signs and ratifies an international anti-discrimination protocol but leaves it unenforceable in its own country for ten years cannot expect people to be convinced of its good intentions. Equality is not protected by declarations alone. It is protected by rights that can be enforced in the courts.