Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/807528
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 APRIL 2017 YANNICK PACE THE Cohabitation Law approved by parliament on Monday will protect the most vulnerable in society from becoming the victims of abuse, Civ- il Liberties Minister Helena Dalli said in a press briefing yesterday. Pointing out that the law had been promised by previous administra- tions but never materialised, Dalli added "society has changed and people can choose to live their lives in a number of different arrange- ments. The government has an ob- ligation to offer a legal framework for those wishing to regularise their arrangement." The law, she said, was the result of a lengthy and complicated consul- tation period where stakeholders, as well technical experts, were asked for their input. She explained that under the new law there will initially be three types of arrangements. The first, 'de facto cohabitation', will automatically come into force when two individu- als in a relationship are living to- gether. This arrangement will offer couples limited rights including the recognition of a partner as one's next of kin, the right to take decisions of a medical nature. Couples will also have the right not to testify against each other in court under this ar- rangement. Dalli clarified that this will not apply in cases of siblings or individuals living together who are not in a relationship. The second type of arrangement will see couples entering into a con- tract of their own choosing, signed by a notary, that defines the legal terms of their relationship; the third arrangement can be entered into unilaterally, and is intended for peo- ple who are living in a state of abuse, in order for their relationship to be recognised by the state. "The government wants to avoid a situation where people contributed to a family, only for them not to have any rights if they are cast aside by their partner. We needed to find a way of regulating this. It was the most pressing issue," Dalli said. Replying to a question on the in- troduction of same-sex marriages, the minister explained that the minister was currently working to- wards introduction of a legal provi- sion and underscored that such a provision requires an analysis of all other laws which will be impacted by it. News 'New cohabitation law will prevent victimisation of most vulnerable' Minister Helena Dalli (second from right) said people should be allowed to choose the way in which they want to live their lives Foreign students attending University of Malta paid €5m fees PAUL COCKS EU and non-EU attending the University of Malta paid a total of €5,050,913 in fees for the scholastic year 2015/2016, up from € 4,392,176 the previous year, according to fig- ures tabled in Parliament yesterday. Education minister Evarist Bar- tolo, responding to questions put to him by opposition MP Chris Said, said that there were currently 11,653 full-time and part-time stu- dents attending the university. Of those, 7,867 were full-time Maltese students while a further 2,783 Maltese students attended University on a part-time basis. There are currently 438 full-time and 99 part-time EU students, the minister said, as well as 433 full- time and 33 part-time foreign stu- dents from outside the EU. For the first semester of the cur- rent year, the University had al- ready received €2,905,144 in fees from foreign students.