The role of family mediation and its importance in resolving family disputes in Pakistan

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17576852

Abstract

The family mediation is an important option that Pakistan can adopt instead of the strained legal system to address the problems of divorce, child custody and inheritance. Although there are clauses of this nature with the Muslim family laws ordinance of 1961 and the family court Act of 1964, the systemic shortcomings such as slowness of the process, costly judicial procedures, and use of informal systems such as Jirgas and Panchayat continue to harm the administration of justice. The activities in these traditional ways have a tendency of operating beyond legal constraints thus causing the violation of rights and family disintegration. The significance of family mediation is that it may offer timely solutions in a cost-effective and culturally appropriate way which targets reconciliation and relieves the court pressure. The paper claims that presently, Pakistan lacks proper mechanisms to resolve family conflicts. It suggests that Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) centers that are controlled by the state should be utilized to guarantee justice, efficiency, and the rule of law, thus building a human and a convenient system of family justice in Pakistan.

Keywords: challenges, historical context, laws, opportunities, theoretical context