TOWARDS AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OF FAMILY DISPUTE IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The family disputes arising from marital relationship should be resolved in harmony and as soon as possible to avoid further conflict between husband and wife. The court is the main platform to decide the disputes. Meanwhile alternative dispute resolution may also be a platform to resolve the family disputes. In Pakistan, the justice system faces several challenges in dealing with family disputes such as delays in legal proceedings which lead to increasing number of backlog family cases. Other than the court, disputant may also refer their case to alternative dispute resolution platform hoping for the best solution for their case. For example family mediation. However, the current legal framework governing such alternative platform and its effectiveness in handling the matter is still questionable. Hence, by employing a sociolegal research methodology, this article seeks to examine the existing legal framework of family dispute resolution in Pakistan. In addition to library data, researchers also using fieldwork data to support the argument. Content analysis method is used to achieve the objective of this article. The findings exhibits the crucial improvement to be made to the existing legal framework in handling family disputes both legislations and court system. In addition, the existence of alternative dispute resolution mechanism is significant and able to play a pivotal role in resolving emerging issues and developing sustainable solutions for amicable settlement of family disputes. Further improvement and legal reforms will have a significant impact on the amicable settlement of family disputes in Pakistan.

Keywords: Alternative Disputes Resolution, Amicable Settlements, Family Dispute Resolution, Islamic Family Law, Shariah Court