Hague convention
3-Feb-2017: WCD Ministry holds national consultation to discuss issues related to India’s accession to Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development held a National Consultation to discuss issues related to India’s accession to Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, in New Delhi.
A large number of women married to Indians abroad are compelled to return to India with their children when they undergo violence in their marriages. Women who have suffered from violence in marriages abroad far exceed men. After listening to the viewpoints expressed by all the stakeholders , the WCD Minister opined that the problems being faced by the parents must be addressed and an effective mechanism for the same must be created. A model legislation to safeguard not only the interests of the child but also of the parents, especially women must also be developed.
Accordingly, based on the discussions and guidance given by the Hon’ble Judges, it was decided that the Chandigarh Judicial Academy Chandigarh along with NRI Commission of Punjab to examine in detail the legal issues involved by taking all viewpoints into account including those of suffering women. They will give recommendations as to how the problems of parents and children involved in such situations can be addressed. They will also study the draft Protection of Children (Inter-Country Removal and Retention) Bill, 2016 . It was also decided that if a model legislation is required to safeguard the interests of parents and children, the same will be drafted. It was decided that this exercise will be completed in four months.
Hague Convention is a multilateral treaty which came into existence on 1st December, 1983. The convention seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return. The convention is intended to enhance the international recognition of rights of custody and access arising in place of habitual residence, and to ensure prompt return of the child who is wrongfully removed or retained from the place of habitual residence. It seeks to return children abducted or retained overseas by a parent to their country of habitual residence for the courts of that country to decide on matters of residence and contact. The convention shall apply to any child, up to the age of 16 years who is a habitual resident of any of the contacting states.
Currently, there is no specific Indian legislation addressing issues related to abduction of children from and into India. However Law Commission of India had submitted the 218th Report titled “Need to accede to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980” on 30th March, 2009. In view of this report, before acceding to the Convention, the Ministry of Women and Child Development prepared a draft Bill titled “The Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction Bill, 2016”. The draft Bill was placed on the Ministry’s website for comments and suggestions from various stakeholders.
The Law Commission of India has recently suggested some modifications in the above mentioned Bill and re-named it as the “The Protection of Children (Inter-country Removal and Retention) Bill, 2016”.
Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT)
6-Jan-2017: Former Pakistan Army chief Raheel Sharif has been made the head of IMAFT
The Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), a 39-nation military coalition created by Saudi Arabia in December 2015 to combat the Islamic State and other groups, currently has 39 members, including Turkey and Malaysia. It is based at a command centre in Riyadh.
The Pakistan government and the army top brass had given their consent for the appointment as retired officers can take up such assignments within two years of stepping down only with the government’s assent.
Pakistan was at the centre of a controversy when Saudi Arabia named it as part of the military alliance without seeking Islamabad’s consent. The government later confirmed its participation in the alliance but has not committed itself to providing troops for any possible operations.
The coalition was envisaged to serve as a platform for security cooperation, including provision of training, equipment and troops, and involvement of religious scholars for dealing with extremism.
The Saudi government had surprised many countries by announcing that it had forged a coalition for coordinating and supporting military operations against terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.
Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival for influence in the Arab world, was absent from the states named as participants, as proxy conflicts between the two regional powers rage from Syria to Yemen.
The coalition includes countries like Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Sudan, Malaysia, Egypt, Yemen among others.
Turkey’s constitutional reform
21-Jan-2017: Turkish parliament approves constitutional reform bill
The Turkish parliament has approved a constitutional reform bill that includes strengthening the powers of the presidency, a move that paves the way for a referendum this year that could see President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in office until 2029.
The constitutional reform bill was approved overnight with 339 votes in the 550-member assembly, parliament said on its official Twitter account on Saturday. The legislation needed at least 330 deputies to support it in order to go to a public vote.
Referred to as the ‘Turkish-style presidency,’ the constitutional change will bring about a number of reforms, and replace the current parliamentary system in which the president serves only as a ceremonial figurehead alongside a prime minister, with a presidential system, which will allow the president to become the sole executive head of state in the country.
More importantly, the office of the prime minister and the cabinet will be abolished and the president will become the head of the executive branch.
The reform would enable the president to issue decrees, declare emergency rule, appoint ministers and top state officials and dissolve parliament – powers that the two main opposition parties say strip away balances to Erdogan’s power.
With the reforms, the president will be allowed to retain ties to a political party, potentially allowing Erdogan to resume his leadership of the AK Party, in a move that opposition parties say will abolish any chance of impartiality.
The plans also envisage presidential and general elections to be held together in 2019 with a president eligible to serve a maximum two five-year terms.