Civil Code (Cap. 16)
Civil Code (Cap. 16), article 278
278. (1) Every act of birth shall be drawn up in accordance
with Form C in Part II of the First Schedule to this Code and,
saving any other provisions, it shall contain the following
particulars:
(a) the date of the act itself;
(b) the hour, day, month, y ear, and place of birth;
(c) the sex of the child:
Provided that where the gender identity of the minor is
not yet determined, the sex may be recorded as
undeclared until it is so determined.
Provided also that, for the purposes of this article, the
term "sex" shall also include the term "gender", so
however that it shall only include the female gender and
the male gender;
(d) the name given to the child, and, where more names
are given, a special indicat ion of the name or names by
which the child is to be called and the surname of the
child;
(e) the name, surname, a legally valid identification
document, age, place of birth and residence of the
parents of the child, and the person making the
declaration:
Provided that:
(i) where the child is born in wedlock, an indication of
the marriage contracted between the spouses shall
be stated in the Act of Birth;
(ii) when a child is born more than three hundred
days from the legal separation, divorce or
annulment of the marriage of the person who
gave birth no reference shall be made to such
legal separation, divorce or annulment of
marriage of the person who gave birth;
(iii) when a child is born less than three hundred days
from the legal separation, divorce or annulment
of the marriage of the person who gave birth a
reference shall be made to such fact in the act of
106 [CAP. 16. CIVIL CODE
birth instead of the indication made by virtue of
paragraph (i) of this proviso;
(iv) where the provisions of article 280(2)( a) apply a
reference to such fact shall be made in the act of
birth;
(f) the name and surname of the parents of each of the
parents of the child, and of the parents of the person
making the declaration, stati ng whether the are alive or
dead.
(2) Without prejudice to the provi so of sub-article (1)(c), in the
event that any conflict arises in relation to the registration of the
sex of the child, the parents shall, within thirty (30) days fr om the
day when the notice of birth is given, file an application befo re the
Civil Court (V oluntary Jurisdiction Section), requesting the Co urt
to order, after considering the best interests of the child, th e sex of
the child that shall be regis tered on the Act of Birth:
Provided that if such application is not so filed within the time
specified in this sub-article, the officer charged with the dut y of
drawing up the Act of B irth shall register the sex as undeclare d.
Registration of
names.
Added by:
XV .2012.18.
Amended by:
L.N. 311 of 2012;
L.N. 465 of 2012;
XXIII.2017.59;
LXV .2020.23.
Text read from the consolidated PDF published by Legislation Malta. Tables, figures and marginal notes may be incomplete or out of place: the official PDF is authoritative. General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.