Child custody: UK-Pakistan protocol will help courts
Judges in both countries face difficulties in such cases.
LAHORE:
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry has said that a judicial protocol between the United Kingdom and Pakistan on children’s custody would help in resolving such issues harmoniously. The CJ was addressing a workshop arranged by Federal Judicial Academy at a local hotel in collaboration with the British High Commission and Struggle for Change, an NGO. It was attended by judicial officers.
The aims and objectives of workshop were to create awareness about the protocol signed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and president of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales. The CJ said that the courts faced a dilemma when a child was moved from one country to another, since the jurisdiction of the courts was different.
The protocol, the CJ explained, would ensure that a child removed from lawful custody of a parent against the order of a court in Pakistan or UK was brought back to the custody of the parent having legal custody.
He said in some cases abduction of the child by one of the parents took place, leading the parents to civil and criminal actions against each other.
He said that in Pakistan the courts gave priority to custody cases, adding, that in most cases the high courts treated them as habeas corpus petitions. “Though Muslims personal law governs the issue in determining parties’ right over children in most cases, welfare of the minor remains the guiding principles. The court should keep this in mind while taking decisions in such cases,” he said.
Under the National Judicial Policy, such cases have to be decided within a period of three to six months, the CJ concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2011.
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry has said that a judicial protocol between the United Kingdom and Pakistan on children’s custody would help in resolving such issues harmoniously. The CJ was addressing a workshop arranged by Federal Judicial Academy at a local hotel in collaboration with the British High Commission and Struggle for Change, an NGO. It was attended by judicial officers.
The aims and objectives of workshop were to create awareness about the protocol signed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and president of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales. The CJ said that the courts faced a dilemma when a child was moved from one country to another, since the jurisdiction of the courts was different.
The protocol, the CJ explained, would ensure that a child removed from lawful custody of a parent against the order of a court in Pakistan or UK was brought back to the custody of the parent having legal custody.
He said in some cases abduction of the child by one of the parents took place, leading the parents to civil and criminal actions against each other.
He said that in Pakistan the courts gave priority to custody cases, adding, that in most cases the high courts treated them as habeas corpus petitions. “Though Muslims personal law governs the issue in determining parties’ right over children in most cases, welfare of the minor remains the guiding principles. The court should keep this in mind while taking decisions in such cases,” he said.
Under the National Judicial Policy, such cases have to be decided within a period of three to six months, the CJ concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2011.