KSJ Legal

Let's talk about 'litigation abuse' in family courts. It takes various forms and you may have witnessed the following examples at play: filing mundane applications to prolong custody trials; ex-husbands filing counter conjugal rights case to Khula (divorce) suits filing habeas corpus petitions in district courts and high courts filing bogus FIRs of theft of gold, money only to send police to the household to embarrass and harass families writing letters to FIA for kidnapping of children and the latest I have seen.. filing a separate domestic violence petition despite knowing the law caters to women only? ??♂? No, it's not frivolous or vexatious litigation. It is well-intentioned, strategic and targeted abuse through litigation. And must be recognized, acknowledged and termed the same. In my practice, I have seen all of the above propagated mostly by male litigants but their notoriety alone is not to be blamed. The authorities and the judges are equally to be held accountable. Judges for accepting applications which are literally so bogus that even a 5-year old can tell that they are unwarranted in its very nature. And the authorities (FIA and police) for taking action without thorough assessment of the motive of the initiator. Their motive? Vengeance. While some jurisdictions have considered the above as post separation domestic-violence– Pakistan's Family Courts are yet to even consider it as abuse of process. -- Learn about it here: https://lnkd.in/eaePd8Gz ??: Read more about it here in this study published in Wiley Family Court Review written by Nicholas Bala Ella Benedetti Sydney Franzmann https://lnkd.in/e_nD7epQ

I always say, speak to adults who have gone through custody proceedings (as children) in family courts and they will tell you how their memories are scarred. They will recall details of how a decision was being made about them without them even being considered. Child-centric justice, they say, what a joke. Children are smart. They remember. They remember what they hear in courts, and how their intelligent preference is sidelined. This is why, speaking to children in a language they understand is so important. It make sense too, right. You are making a decision about them. They need to know. This is why when I saw this toolkit about writing to children in family courts, I said: "the missing component in child-centric justice is here." After Justice Athar Minallah's judgment on children's intelligent preference, Justice Babar Sattar's stance on holistic, specialised justice which has moved the needle for child-centric justice in Pakistani family courts, let's push it a notch higher. Equip the judges with vocabulary and eloquence to inform children of the proceedings they are part of. Let's begin. Learn more about the toolkit here: Nuffield Family Justice Observatory website https://lnkd.in/eGpUkS8y Please tag the relevant people in comments and share with people who can push this narrative and agenda. Thank you . . Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad Khyber Pakhtukhwa Judicial Academy

Overstepping family courts mandate in domestic violence (DV) cases will be recurrent. Having litigated DV cases since 4 years – I foresee this issue to persist. I propose some solutions: a) developing a 'practice code' (about time) for DV and family courts; b) introducing 'trauma-informed' training models for magistrates (about time); and c) create PROTECTION COMMITTEES as mandated by the DV Act 2013 (for God's sake, about time). Alternatively, I do think that both legislations Guardians & Wards Act 1890 and Sindh DV (Prevention & Protection) Act 2013 inevitably fall under the larger ambit of Family Law. Other jurisdictions like India & UK have understood that; which is why family court's powers have been enlarged to execute/issue protection orders if the female litigant alleges DV in her family suit. We can explore how both legislations will engage. DV Act's scholarship is still developing but lawyers and judges must not mistake it entirely as yet another Pakistan Penal Code offence, please. It is not. It creates special offences which must be treated with the protocol and sensitivity as mandated by DV Act. Last, great to witness ADJ Zeeshan Mansoor shb for being one of the few judges in Karachi courts who takes his time to understand novel legal propositions and attends to each aspect seriously. Please find the time to read the order below obtained through brilliant pleadings by Adv Urooj Lashari who manages KSJ Legal 's district court portfolio. I'm also trying to mobilize the DV Act for litigants to be aware and lawyers to advise clients accordingly. Please also have a look at my effort in transforming this space through AI via mehfooz.ai . #domesticabuse #domesticviolence #Aiforgood #AI #humanrights #courts #magistrates #attorney #research #GBV #courts #ecourts