Unjust rules of intestate succession

THE purpose of this piece is to examine the objective of Pakistan’s intestate succession law, the adequacy of the current scheme to meet those goals and to suggest consideration of alternative discretionary schemes, as practiced in foreign countries, which may help resolve existing problems in Pakistan’s courts. The inequality that this writer considers most unjust is inheritance cases. The current inheritance laws should be changed to allow people to dispose freely of their estate, subject to the court’s right to award an appropriate share from the estate for the maintenance and sustenance of the dependents of the deceased. Virtually every other developed country in the world has adopted a scheme for intestate succession that grants judicial discretion in the distribution of a decedent’s estate, when justice requires, to those who were economically dependent on the deceased. Courts in Pakistan should adopt such a scheme to correct prejudices and inequalities that will arise more frequently as existing family dynamics evolve beyond rules of intestate succession that remain trapped in a century-old framework. Of course, if the current laws constitute a breach of basic human rights, then one may ask: where do children claim compensation from? Is the State responsible for providing an amount equal to the lost inheritance? The unfairness of the current system should be sufficient to instill a sense of urgency in the country. In this respect, our laws and mentality appear feudal. Is a person, any person, who is born into this world, not a human being? Does each person not deserve the opportunity to learn, to prove themselves, to try and become successful? What happens to those children who are not given sufficient opportunity and a proper learning environment? Many of them become a burden on society. In material terms, there are medicines one may need but cannot afford, books one may be unable to buy and tutoring—which is even more expensive. Who will bear these hardship