National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice Thursday passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019 which seeks to amend the Family Courts Act 1964 to empower the family courts to involve family members of the spouses to settle any marital dispute at pre-trial stage.
The committee met in the chair of Riaz Fatyana from the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and reviewed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019 moved by Syed Javed Hasnain from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
After a detailed discussion, the committee recommended that the bill, with the amendments approved by the committee, be passed by the National Assembly.
On April 23, 2019, Hasnain had moved the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019 in the NA as a private member bill. In line with the Parliament's rules of business, the bill was referred to NA Standing Committee on Law and Justice for review. After the bill's passage by the committee, the bill would now be presented in the NA and seek its nod before it would require to be passed by the Senate and then signed by the president of Pakistan in order to become a law. The bill would be applicable in the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) if it becomes a law.
The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019 seeks to amend the section 10 (3) of the Family Courts Act 1964. The Act, which is in effect in Punjab, empowers the Family Courts for expeditious settle and disposal of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs.
The existing Section 10 (3) reads, "The family court may, at the pre-trial stage, ascertain the precise points of controversy between the parties and attempt to effect compromise between the parties."
The amendment recommended in Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019 reads, "At the pre-trial stage, the court shall ascertain the points at issue between the parties and nominate one person each from the families of the parties with their consent for conciliation."
The statement of objects and reasons of the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019 says, "'Article 227 of the Constitution provides for all existing laws to be brought in conformity with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah and that no law shall be enacted which is repugnant to such injunctions. According to injunctions of the Holy Quran (Sura-An-Nisa, verse 35) regarding appointment of an arbitrator from the families of spouses in case of any conflict between the parties for the purpose of conciliation, this amendment has been proposed so that rate of divorce shall decreased. The bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives."
Meanwhile, the NA Standing Committee on Law and Justice once again, like the previous meetings, deferred discussion on three bills till the committee's next meeting. These include a government bill; the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill 2019, which was deferred on the request of Ministry of Law and Justice. The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 moved by Kishwar Zehra from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was deferred due to non-availability of the mover. The third bill deferred by the committee was the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 moved by Dr Nafeesa Shah from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The committee deferred the bill till next meeting with recommendations that the secretaries of the ministries of human rights, religious affairs & interfaith harmony and federal education and professional training shall be called to attend the next meeting to brief the committee on the relevant matters.
Apart from committee members, Law Minister Farogh Naseem, Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Dr Qibla Ayaz and senior officials from Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) attended the meeting.
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