Submitted by crinadmin on
A number of provisions in the Constitution (1973) protect the physical integrity of all persons and provide for protection of the child.1
Section 4 (Right of individuals to be dealt with in accordance with law, etc):
“(1) To enjoy the protection of law and to be treated in accordance with law is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every person for the time being within Pakistan.
(2) In particular:
a) no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law....”
Section 8 (Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights to be void):
“(1) Any law, or any custom or usage having the force of law, in so far as it is inconsistent with the rights conferred by this Chapter, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.
(2) The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights so conferred and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of such contravention, be void....”
Section 9 (Security of person):
“No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law.”
Section 14 (Inviolability of dignity of man, etc.):
“(1) The dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolable.
(2) No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence.”
Section 25 (Equality of citizens):
“(1) All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of law.
(2) There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone.
(3) Nothing in this Section shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.”
Section 35 (Protection of family, etc.):
“The State shall protect the marriage, the family, the mother and the child.”
Pakistan has ratified or acceded to the following international and regional treaties:
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Convention on the Rights of the Child (in 1990)
Reservations: On ratification the Government made the following reservation: “Provisions of the Convention shall be interpreted in the light of the principles of Islamic laws and values.” The reservation was withdrawn on 23 July 1997. -
International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (in 1966)
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in 2008)
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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (in 2010)
Reservations: A number were made on ratification, including the following: “[The] Islamic Republic of Pakistan declares that the provisions of Sections 3, 6, 7, 18 and 19 shall be so applied to the extent that they are not repugnant to the Provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan and Sharia laws.” -
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (in 2010)
Reservations: A number were made on ratification, including the following on sections 4, 6, 12, 13 and 16: “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan declares that the provisions of these Sections shall be so applied to the extent that they are not repugnant to the Provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan and the Sharia laws.” -
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (in 1996)
Declaration: “The accession by [the] Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the [said Convention] is subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.” -
SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia
Pakistan has signed and the Cabinet has approved the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but as at April 2011 the process is not yet complete. Pakistan has not ratified the Second Optional Protocol on the ICCPR aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
Pakistan has not ratified any complaints/communications mechanisms.
Status of treaties
The legal system is partly based on English common law. Such systems typically do not directly incorporate international treaties but require separate enabling legislation in the domestic system and amendments to national laws to harmonise them with the provisions of the relevant treaty.2
1 The 2004 judgment of the Lahore High Court attempted to rely in part on the Constitution to support its revocation of the protections in the JJSO, arguing that the JJSO is incompatible with sections 4, 9 and 25 of the Constitution – see Amnesty International (2005a), op cit.
2 UNICEF (2007), Law reform and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, p.5
pdf: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=23610