FCC Issues New Rules for Cross-Border Child Custody

Notably, the Federal Constitutional Court has issued guidelines for courts and authorities handling custody disputes between parents of different nationalities, saying international child abduction protocols must be respected and foreign custody orders given due consideration.

Key points

• According to the facts of the case, Faraz Shaikh, a resident of North Carolina and a US citizen, married Javeria Shahani on August 21, 2017.
• The child was afterwards handed over to the US Embassy in Karachi on February 2, 2024, and returned to the United States.
• A copy of the order was additionally sent to the General Court of Justice, District Court Division, State of North Carolina.
• On February 3, 2022, the General Court of Justice passed a temporary custody order, under which both parents were asked to share custody.
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In practice, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech set aside the Sindh High Court's March 16 order that had directed the father to restore custody of his minor son to the child's mother, Javeria Shahani.

In practice, the Sindh High Court had earlier recalled its judgment and ordered that if the father, Muhammad Faraz Shaikh, failed to produce the child before the court, an FIR should be registered under child abduction provisions. US-Born Pakistani Babies May Need Parents to Prove Legal Status.

It had additionally directed the ministries of foreign affairs and interior, along with the Department of Human Rights Affairs, to take all necessary measures to ensure the child was brought before the court. A copy of the order was additionally sent to the General Court of Justice, District Court Division, State of North Carolina.

In its eight-page judgment authored by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, the FCC remarked that in custody disputes involving parents from different countries, courts should consider the jurisdiction of the foreign court that had already issued an order.

Meanwhile, the judgment remarked taking or keeping a child in another country becomes wrongful if it violates the laws, court orders or legal agreements of the country where the child lived earlier.

It continued that the child must be returned to that country unless he or she has become fully settled in the new place.

According to The court further, once it is informed concerning the removal of a child, it cannot decide custody independently unless it first determines that the child does not have to be returned under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980.

Meanwhile, the guidelines say local courts should additionally examine whether the foreign court had proper jurisdiction, whether the case was decided on merit under private international law principles recognised in Pakistan, and whether the judgment was not obtained through fraud or in violation of natural justice.

According to the facts of the case, Faraz Shaikh, a resident of North Carolina and a US citizen, married Javeria Shahani on August 21, 2017. The couple afterwards travelled to Pakistan for a wedding reception and their son, Rohaan Faraz Shaikh, was born in January 2019.

After which custody litigation began, the couple separated on October 2, 2021.

On February 3, 2022, the General Court of Justice passed a temporary custody order, under which both parents were asked to share custody. Husband Can't Take Back Gold Given to Wife Despite Separation: LHC.

In practice, the judgment notes the father arrived at the agreed exchange location on May 6, 2022, but after waiting for some time, went to the mother's home and afterwards learned that she had travelled with the child to Karachi.

For context, the mother then filed a guardianship petition before the family judge in Malir and additionally sought Pakistani citizenship for the child without the father's knowledge.

On May 9, 2022, the General Court of Justice issued an ex-parte temporary emergency custody order directing the mother to return to North Carolina and hand over the child to the father.

In practice, the child was afterwards handed over to the US Embassy in Karachi on February 2, 2024, and returned to the United States. Stay Connected with ProPakistani. Obtain the latest news and stories wherever you prefer. Follow on Google Discover.

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For now, FCC Issues New Rules for Cross remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.