Watch: New Equality Law Is Back On Our Agenda, Robert Abela Announces
It slipped under the radar, but Prime Minister Robert Abela made quite an important announcement during his Freedom Day political speech yesterday.
The Equality Bill, a controversial piece of legislation that has been shelved for years, is back on Malta’s national agenda.
“We want to keep strengthening equality and we must implement changes to eliminate all forms of discrimination, because discrimination is the worst form of injustice and this party was set up to combat injustice against the weakest in society,” Abela said.
“We want justice for everyone, and this shouldn’t depend on how strong and loud you are, but on how much you need it. The enhancement of our equality laws needs to and will be put back on the national agenda.”
Launched way back in 2016, the Equality Bill has proven to be one of the most controversial pieces of legislation that Parliament has discussed in recent history.
It proposes a new Human Rights and Equality Commission, which will be tasked with looking into discrimination complaints from the general public and deciding whether or not to forward them to a new Equality Board.
This quasi-judicial board will have the power to order remedial action and damages ranging up to €10,000.
As proposed, the burden of proof will with the accused, meaning anyone sued for discrimination will have to prove that their actions weren’t discriminatory. However, if the board deems a report to be frivolous, vexatious or filed in bad faith, it can order the plaintiff to pay the judicial costs as well as fine them up to €500.
The bill proved to be hugely controversial and was criticised by doctors, teachers, pharmacists and religious activists alike, who warned it will shoehorn them and leave them unable to take professional decisions according to their conscience.
It has been shelved for years, essentially gathering dust on Parliament’s shelves, but Abela’s statement last night could well indicate that this will soon change.
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