DNA result not enough to grant father parental rights

The father of a 10-month daughter has filed a constitutional application claiming his fundamental rights were breached when the Family Court denied him access to his daughter, albeit having proved his fatherhood through a DNA test.

Baby Elenia was born of a relationship Joseph Psaila had with Graziella Debono. However, without the father's consent, Debono registered her daughter as 'father unknown'.

Psaila instituted proceedings against the Director of Public Registry to register his name on his daughter's birth certificate. The father also exhibited a DNA test proving Elenia was his natural daughter and that he was her uncontested father. Nevertheless, Debono still denied him the right to see his daughter.

On 11 October, Psaila demanded that the Family Court assign him a right to see his daughter, however the request was rejected on the basis that his name does not appear on his daughter's birth certificate.

Having exhausted all means of securing a right of access to his daughter, and having his DNA test result ignored, Joseph Psaila turned to the Constitutional Court claiming previous court decrees breached his fundamental rights when denying him access to his child. Through his lawyers the father filed a Constitutional application demanding he is granted his fundamental right of access to his daughter.

The Constitutional application was signed by lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt.