PAKISTAN: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Pakistan's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of CRC in national law
At the time of ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Pakistan made a general reservation that the provisions of the CRC shall be interpreted according to the principles of Islamic Laws and values. The reservation was withdrawn on July 23, 1997. Conventions are not enforceable in Pakistan until there is enabling legislation making them law of the land. Pakistan has not introduced any such law with regard to the CRC, meaning that the Convention cannot be directly applied in the courts.

Constitution- The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan does not generally distinguish between children and adults. Nonetheless, it does include a number of provisions that specifically address children:

  • Art. 11(3) prohibits slavery and forced labour, and states that “no child below the age of fourteen years shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment”;

  • Art. 25A establishes “free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law”;

  • Art. 25(3) and 26(3) allow for positive discrimination, stating that nothing “shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children”;

  • Art. 35 sets special protection for the institution of marriage, the family, the mother and the child;

  • Art. 37 establishes a duty not to employ children and women in vocations “unsuited to their age or sex, and for maternity benefits for women in employment”.

Legislation- There is no comprehensive children’s act in Pakistan, but provisions related to children’s rights appear in both general thematic codes and specific acts. Relevant national legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:

  • Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2009

  • National Commission on the Rights of Children Bill, 2009

  • The Charter on the Child Rights Bill, 2009

  • The Child Marriages Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2009

  • The Employment of Children Act, 1991

  • The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2004

  • The Pakistan Penal Code, 1860

  • Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898

  • Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006

  • Probation of Offenders Ordinance, 1960

  • Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000

  • Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006

  • Law on Honour killing, 2006

  • The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act, 2004

  • The NWFP Child Welfare and Protection Bill, 2009

  • The North West Frontier Province Elementary Education Foundation Ordinance, 2002

  • The Punjab Education Foundation Act, 2004

  • Sindh Child Protection Authority Bill, 2009

  • The AJK Child Protection Authority, Bill 2009

  • Protection against Harassment at Workplace, Bill, 2009

  • Domestic Violence against Women and Children (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2009

  • Guardians and Wards Act, 1890

  • Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance, 2002

  • Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Rules, 2004

  • Control of narcotics Substances act, 1997

Legal Research:
The federal and supreme legislative power in Pakistan is the The Parliament of Pakistan, officially known as Majlis-e-Shoora. It consists of two houses, the Senate (upper house) and the National Assembly, both of which maintain websites in English (http://www.senate.gov.pk/; http://www.na.gov.pk/) and offer English versions of legislation. The Constitution in English can be downloaded from the Senate website (http://pakistanconstitution-law.org/), and a number of laws relevant to children’s rights can be found in the International Labour Organization’s NATLEX database (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=PAK). The GlobaLex initiative at New York University offers a helpful guide to legal research in Pakistan (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Pakistan.htm), and both the U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/pakistan.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/245.html) offer portals with links to many legal and government websites.

Case law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research
The Supreme Court of Pakistan offers full text versions of its decisions in English (http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/page.asp?id=103). The Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan also maintains a website in English and offers a database of leading judgements/reports (http://federalshariatcourt.gov.pk/Land_Judg.html). There is one High Court in each Province, and one in the federal capital, Islamabad, each of which maintains its own website offering a list of judgements and orders in English. These courts include the Lahore High Court (http://www.lhc.gov.pk/), Sindh High Court (http://www.sindhhighcourt.gov.pk/), Peshawar High Court (http://www.peshawarhighcourt.gov.pk/), Balochistan High Court (http://bhc.gov.pk/) and Islamabad High Court (http://www.ihc.gov.pk/).

Compliance with the CRC
While the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the adoption of new national legal acts and amendments to current regulations, it noted with regret that most of these legal acts have not been sufficiently implemented and expressed concerns “about the apparent lack of a legislative framework harmonized with the Convention in many areas,” as described below.

In depth analysis
The Committee noted in particular concerns around the lack of a uniform definition for a child, including differences between the age of majority for boys and girls. In general, the Committee also felt that discrimination was a major issue in Pakistani laws, not only on the basis of gender, but also religion, race/ethnicity, disability, income, and a rural/urban divide. Children with disabilities, refugee children, and children affected by armed conflict in particular faced serious difficulties given the lack of even basic support services.

The Committee also remarked on Parkistan’s low rate of birth registration and enrolment in primary education. In examining the country’s juvenile justice system, the Committee lamented the low minimum age of criminal responsibility and expressed further concerns around reports of torture and ill-treatment of children in detention and other state-run institutions. It was also reported that tribal justice systems imposed inhuman sentences on children, including whipping, amputation and stoning.

Current legal reform projects
As of August 2009, the Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill 2009, the National Commission on the Rights of the Children (NCRC) Bill 2009 and the National Child Protection Policy had been prepared in consultation with relevant stakeholders and were being presented to the Cabinet for approval before proceeding to Parliament. Additionally, the Federal Government was supporting a private members' bill - the Charter of Child Rights Bill 2009 – in the National Assembly.

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.