Independent: Gay movement contests court decision

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=125855
24.5.11

The Malta Gay Rights Movement said the failure of the Constitutional Court to recognise transgender Joanne Cassar as a woman goes against the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights as expressed in Goodwin vs UK and other recent judgements and also jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice.

The Constitutional Court affirmed that a breach of Articles 8 and 12 of the Convention on Human Rights had taken place in respect of Joanne Cassar. However the court said that this breach occurred due to a lacuna in Maltese legislation that does not allow for transgender persons to enter into what it termed 'a life partnership'.

The movement said that the court did not recognise the right of the post-operative transgender woman to have her affirmed gender identity recognised by law, adopting the narrowest possible interpretation of gender based solely on biological criteria.

The MGRM said that as reiterated in the proposed Gender Identity Act, the movement holds that gender identity is a matter for the individual to decide and that the state is duty-bound to respect this identity by granting full and effective legal recognition. Anything less than this violates the right of the individual to self-determination and often leads to a violation of the transgender person's rights to private and family life.