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| Family Law / Ordinance & Disputes |
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1. Litigation and Dispute Resolution. |
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| 2. Muslim Marriages Law in Pakistan. |
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| 3. Divorce Deeds & Law in Pakistan. |
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| 4. Child Custody Agreements & Law in Pakistan. |
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Relevant Law for Marriage, Divorce, Child Custody & Maintenance: |
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- Guardians and Wards Act 1890
- Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929
- Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939
- Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961
- (West Pakistan) Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1962
- (West Pakistan) Family Courts Act 1964
- Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance 1979
- Law of Evidence (Qanun-e-Shahadat) Order 1984
- Enforcement of Sharia Act 1991
- Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act 1976
- Prohibition (Enforcement of Hudood) Order 1979
- Offence of Qazf (Enforcement of Hudood ) Order 1979
- Execution of Punishment of Whipping Ordinance 1979
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Litigation & Disputes Resolutions |
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| Our Areas of Practice in the ligation section of Family- Divorce and Child Custody matters mainly include the following; |
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| Muslim Marriages Law in Pakistan |
| Under-age Marriages |
The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 has made under-age marriages a penal offence. Under the Act the minimum age of marriage for a male is 18 years whereas the minimum age of marriage for a female is 16 years. Despite the fact that under-age marriages are liable to punishment, such unions are not rendered invalid. |
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| Consent of Wali |
According to the Hanafi school, an adult woman may contract her marriage without the consent of a wali. |
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| Registration of Marriages |
The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 introduced reforms regarding registration of marriages, and in default of such registration, penalties of fine and imprisonment have been prescribed. Nevertheless, Muslim marriages are still legal and valid if they are performed according to the requisites of Islam. |
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| Polygamous Marriages |
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance has also introduced some reforms in the law relating to polygamy. Now, a husband must submit an application and pay a prescribed fee to the local union council in order to obtain permission for contracting a polygamous marriage. Thereafter, the chairman of the union council forms an arbitration council with representatives of both husband and wife/wives in order to determine the necessity of the proposed marriage. The application must state whether the husband has obtained consent of the existing wife or wives. Contracting a polygamous marriage without prior consent is subject to penalties of fine and or imprisonment and the husband becomes bound to make immediate payment of dowery to the existing wife or wives. Nonetheless, if the husband has not obtained consent of the existing wife or wives the subsequent marriage remains valid. |
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| Divorce Deed & Law In Pakistan |
Divorce is a painful experience and we fully understand our client’s anxiety and need to thoroughly appreciate the circumstances and grounds for such decisions. As per Muslim Personal Law, in Pakistan, a Husband can Divorce his lawfully wedded wife by a Deed of Divorce which can be prepared wherein Triple Divorce is pronounced before witness. However, wife can only seek Khula from her husband if her right of Divorce was deleted or not authorised in her marriage contract, known as Nikkanama.
Therefore in most cases wife would be supported by our litigation department for filling of Khula application in court.
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| Divorce / Talaq by the Husband |
Under Muslim Family Laws Ordinance limited reforms have also been introduced in relation to talaq. Under Muslim Family Laws Ordinance a divorcing husband shall, as soon as possible after talaq has been pronounced, in whatever form, give a notice in writing to the chairman of the Union Council. The chairman must then supply a copy of the notice of talaq to the wife. Non-compliance is punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine. Within thirty days of receipt of the notice of talaq, the chairman must constitute an Arbitration Council in order to take steps to bring about a reconciliation between the husband and the wife. If and when such attempts to negotiate a reconciliation fail, a talaq that is not revoked in the meantime, either expressly or implicitly, takes effect after the expiry of ninety days from the day on which the notice of repudiation was first delivered to the chairman. If, however, the wife is pregnant at the time of the pronouncement of talaq, the talaq does not take effect until ninety days have elapsed or the end of the pregnancy, whichever is later. |
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| Failure to Give Notice of Talaq |
Failure to notify, in the above stated manner, invalidated Talaq until the late 1970s and early 1980s, but introduction of the Zina Ordinance allowed scope for abuse as repudiated wives were left open to charges of zina if their husbands had not followed the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance notification procedure. Since early 1980s, the practice of the Courts in Pakistan is that they validate a Talaq despite a failure to notify as provided under the said Ordinance. |
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| Judicial Divorce / Khula (Dissolution of Marriage) |
Judicial khula may also be granted without the husband's consent if the wife is willing to forgo her financial rights. |
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| Grounds for Judicial Divorce on which a woman may seek khula include: |
- Desertion by husband for four years,
- Failure to maintain for two years
- Husband contracting a polygamous marriage in contravention of established legal procedures,
- Husband's imprisonment for seven years,
- Husband's failure to perform marital obligations for three years,
- Husband's continued impotence from the time of the marriage,
- Husband's insanity for two years or his serious illness,
- Wife's exercise of her option of puberty if she was contracted into marriage by any guardian before the age of 16 and repudiates the marriage before the age of 18 (as long as the marriage was not consummated),
- Husband's cruelty (including physical or other mistreatment, unequal treatment of co-wives), and
- Any other ground recognised as valid for the dissolution of marriage under Muslim law.
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| Child Custody Agreement & Law in Pakistan |
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A child custody agreement is an extremely important document subsequent for divorce parenting. It is essential that the areas of concern are covered in the said agreement and therefore a child custody agreement needs a lot of consideration in drafting.
The key ingredients of a child custody agreement include: |
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- Pesidency including provisions for geographic moves etc.
- Access periods for each parent including holidays and other special events and occasions
- Decision making and responsibilities regarding education, health and religion.
- financial responsibilities in the form of child support obligations.
Our aim is to prevent any shortcoming in the child custody agreement, to prevent. One of the major shortcomings of most child custody agreements is that they generally don't take into account the changing needs of children. In fact, most child custody agreements are based on the ages and stage of development that children are at when the agreement is first drafted. Considering that children grow and mature, this does not make a lot of sense if a child is a toddler and the agreement is intended to be in place for the child until adulthood. The best child custody agreement is one that considers a child's changing needs based on his or her stage of development.
Another shortcoming of child custody agreements is that they emphasize the parents' needs and not the children's. Although the divorce courts are guided by the "best interests" of children, judges and divorce attorneys who know little about child development are not in a position to guide parents' decision making based on their children's needs. |
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