INDIA’S INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO UNITE NATIONS

STUDY GUIDE

COMMITTEE: JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

AGENDA: DISCUSSING THE NEED FOR UNIFORM CIVIL
CODE
 MANDATE
Joint Parliamentary Committees are a provision in the Indian Legislative system that allows the
Parliament to constitute a panel of Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and the
Rajya Sabha for a specific plan and period only. JPC is utilised by the legislators for a detailed
study of a national issue, close examination of a proposed bill, or to investigate alleged scams or
financial discrepancies; solutions are then submitted in the form of a committee report.
Committee Reports thus sent to the parliament may or may not be considered while formulating
legislation on the issue.

INTRODUCTION

Uniform Civil Code

India's proposed Uniform Civil Code, often known as the UCC, aims to establish and carry out
personal laws for citizens that apply to everyone regardless of religion. Currently, religious
community-based personal laws are in place for members of each community, and special
provisions for those who do not fall into the existing community divisions/practice atheism.

Personal Laws
Laws that apply to a people based on their caste, religion, faith, and beliefs are created after
thorough consideration of customs and religious texts. Hindu and Islamic personal law are
derived from and controlled by the holy texts of each faith.

UNIFORM CIVIL CODE OUTSIDE INDIA

Rome: The Romans are responsible for developing the notion of civil law. The Romans created a
code exclusive to the Roman populace using doctrines that outlined how legal disputes would be
resolved. They gave it the name Jus Civile, which is a modern legal term that supports all legal
norms and principles that derive from Rome's laws and customs as opposed to those that derive
from universal customs, known as jus gentium, or from the basic moral principles that are
ingrained in human nature, known as jus naturale.
The author of this Code was Emperor Justinian, who ascended to the throne in 527 CE. Even
though it had been interpreted, evolved, and modified, Roman law continued to be used in many
other nations , evolved through numerous legal precedents and generations of jurists, then
modified to fit new circumstances.

France: In the modern era, the French civil code is among the most well-known in the entire
globe. Though the unification of the existing civil law had started more than a decade earlier, the
Napoleon Civil Code superseded more than 300,000 local civil law laws when it was first
adopted in France in 1804. It covered a wide range of topics including property, goods, usufructs,
easements, succession, wills, gifts, contracts, and quasi-contracts. It also supplanted both
customary law and pre-existing legal rules. Between privilege and equality, social mores and
legal obligations, the French Code has attempted to strike a compromise.

The United States of America :There are several levels of legislation that apply individually to
the country, the state and the county, or to agencies and towns in the United States, where the
issue of diversity may be more in line with Indian conditions. States are separate legal entities
that have their own Supreme Courts and operate according to their own customs and laws.
Despite the fact that these civil laws of the United States are governed by universal principles,
they are not. The Federal Supreme Court only hears cases that are federal in origin or that have
national-level implications, such as those involving security, taxation, general legal difficulties,
etc.

Islamic Countries: Sharia law has historically been enacted in the majority of Islamic nations.
Sharia law is derived from religious doctrines, customs, and traditions and is frequently
interpreted by trained Islamic jurists. However, in the modern age, statutes influenced by
European models have superseded or changed such legislation. In modern Islamic nations, there
is a sophisticated system for streamlining the law without rejecting the tenets of classical
jurisprudence. There is a need for the restoration of legal systems that are solely based on Sharia
law in certain other nations with increasing Islamic authority.
As a result, Islamic nations across the world, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt,
Malaysia, Nigeria, and others, typically have a mix of civil laws based on traditional Sharia law.
 HISTORY
Uniform Code of Conduct
The UCC was first proposed in the British government's 1835 report on colonial India, which
emphasised the need for uniformity in the codification of Indian law with regard to crimes,
evidence, and contracts and specifically recommended that personal laws of Hindus and Muslims
be kept outside of such codification.

Personal Laws
Personal laws are a system of rules that are based on religion, culture, and/or belief that only
apply to a certain class of people, group of people, or individual. Aspects like marriage, divorce,
guardianship, adoption, and succession are all covered under personal laws that are governed by
religion in India.
However, the laws that govern all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and Parsis are governed
by their own set of personal laws in India. For instance, Abolishing the practice of Sati, the
Bengal Sati Regulation was passed in 1829. The Indian Divorce Act of 1869 stipulated reasons,
mutual consent, and the nullity of marriage. The Anand Marriage Act was passed in 1909 to
recognise the legitimacy of Sikh marriage. The Dissolution of Muslim Personal Law (Shariat)
Application Act of 1937, passed in 1939, had no minimum age requirement and permitted
parental approval in Muslim weddings. The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 set a minimum
age of 18 for males and 15 for women to marry.
Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Minority Act, and
Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act were all
passed into law in 1956. In the 1973 case of K. Kumar
v. Leena, the court noted that common law did not
include a provision for maintenance. The Muslim
Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act was
passed in response to the contentious Shah Bano case
in 1985. The triple talaq custom was declared
unlawful in 2017 by the Supreme Court. While there are supporters of the laws, some
communities believe personal laws hamper the communitarian and cultural integrity of their
social norms and customs.

Personal rules were initially created under the British Raj and applied mainly to Hindu and
Muslim communities. Concerned by the community leaders' opposition, British authorities
decided against meddling more in this internal issue.
The Indian state of Goa was split from the rest of India due to colonial control in Portuguese Goa
and Daman. Still, it maintained its common family law, known as the Goa civil code, making it
the only state in India to this day with a unified civil code.

CURRENT SCENARIO

The Constitution on Civil Code

The Indian Constitution's Articles 25 through 28 provide religious freedom to all Indian citizens
and allow religious groups to manage their own affairs. Article 44 of the Indian Constitution
mandates that while formulating national policy, the Indian state must apply directive principles
and common law to all Indian residents.
This development also provides optimism for India's LGBTQIA+ community.

Family Laws
Family law covers the following topics:
● Legally recognised spousal and domestic relationships can be entered into through
marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships.
Dissolution of legally recognised family connections and related issues, including divorce,
annulment, property settlements, alimony, child custody and visitation, child support, and
alimony awards.
● Agreements made before and after getting married
● Adoption refers to the legal process of adopting a child or, in certain situations, an adult.
● Becoming a surrogate mother through the legal process is known as surrogacy.
 ● Child protective proceedings: court actions that might be brought about by state
intervention in situations involving child abuse and child neglect
● Child-related issues, such as status crimes, delinquency, emancipation, and juvenile
adjudication, are under the purview of juvenile law.
● Establishing and denying paternity through legal processes and conducting paternity tests
are examples of paternity.

According to Ambedkar's vision, the UCC in India seeks to protect disadvantaged groups like
women and religious minorities while promoting togetherness and a sense of national fervour.
Critics believe that specific personal laws create differences in the status of women in various
communities. According to Qutub Kidwai, Regional Coordinator for West India, Muslim
Personal laws do not entirely abide by the Islamic texts and norms.

Goa and the Uniform Civil Code

In India, only the state of Goa has a civil code that applies to everyone, regardless of caste,
gender, or religion. Family law is widespread in Goa. As a result, the only Indian state with a
unified civil code is Goa. In Goa, the same marriage, divorce, and succession laws apply to all
religions, including Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. With the passage of the Goa Daman and
Diu Administration Act 1962, which was the result of Goa becoming a union territory in 1961,
the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 was recognised for use in Goa and is subject to amendment
and repeal by the appropriate legislative body. Marriages in Goa are agreements between two
persons of opposite sexes made to form a legal family and live together. These agreements are
recorded with the civil registrar's office. The parties must abide by the specific rules and
regulations before they can begin living together and building a life together.

No matter the couple's faith, this marriage statute allows for a civil union for people of opposite
sexes. This regulation required Indians to wed outside of the rules of their law. Except for Jammu
& Kashmir, which had been granted special status under Article 370, this legislation is in effect
throughout India. This statute is nearly identical to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, which
provides insight into how the law has been secularised about Hindus. Everyone in the Muslim
community is required to marry under specific marriage laws. By this law, polygamy was
prohibited. The Indian Succession Act also governs the divorce system. But in Goa, particular
rules are adhered to regarding divorce. According to this statute, Muslim community members
who registered their marriages in Goa cannot accept more than one wife. During the marriage,
the couple's assets are their property, and if one spouse passes away, the other spouse inherits the
surviving spouse's half-share. The children also received equal shares of the other half of the
land.

BLOC POSITIONS

For UCC
● The primary defence of a UCC is that it interferes with people's freedom to practice the
religion of their choosing, preventing religious communities from adhering to their
regional laws. The autonomy of any religious organisation is, for instance, guaranteed
under Article 25. Article 29 guarantees them the right to preserve their own culture.
● The Parliament and State Assemblies now have the power to make personal laws in
accordance with number 5 of the Concurrent List, which includes personal laws.
● India is a "secular democratic republic," according to the preamble of the Indian
constitution. This indicates that there is no official state religion and that a secular state
should respect other people's religious practices without interfering with them or
mistreating members of other communities because of their religion. This also implies
that other community members' rights should not be interfered with.

Against UCC
● Tribal organisations, such as the Rashtriya Adivasi Ekta Parishad, which petitioned the
Supreme Court in 2016 to obtain protection for its members' customs and religious
beliefs against an eventual UCC, have voiced a similar concern. They argue that private
affairs like marriage, property ownership, etc., customary norms precede federal
legislation in Nagaland's tribal areas.
● It is claimed that if codified civil laws and criminal laws like the CrPC and IPC do not
uphold the idea of "one nation, one law," then "one nation, one law" cannot be applied to
the specific personal laws of many groups.
● A UCC is speculated to impose a Hinduized code on all communities. For example, a
UCC may include provisions that, while adhering to Hindu custom in areas like marriage,
would bind members of other groups to follow it.
● A contemporary, progressive nation is one with a uniform civil code. It shows that the
country has gone past caste and religion issues. Even while we as a country always work
to achieve the highest levels of economic progress, it is also feasible to state that our
social and cultural standing has reached an all-time low.

SUGGESTED MODERATED CAUCUS TOPICS

1. Discussing whether a uniform civil code is required in India.
2. Analyzing the outcomes of personal laws.
3. Analyzing the impact of personal laws on various communities and how they affect the
rift between certain communities or religions.
4. Discuss the need for a uniform law for marriage and divorce in the LGBTQ+ community.
5. Discuss the legitimacy of family laws and their association with religious customs and
social norms.
6. Analyzing the status of women in different communities and the role of personal laws in
uplifting them.
7. Analyzing the impact of personal and family laws on the state of secularism.
8. Discuss whether Uniform Civil Code shall solve the debate on religious autonomy.
9. Analyzing the stance of religious leaders on UCC and religious autonomy.
10. Discuss property succession laws in various communities by the civil code.
 RESEARCH LINKS

(Note: Delegates, some of the links are only meant for light reading and thus are not highlighted,
only refer to the highlighted sources as valid proof as others may or may not be accepted as a
source of proof in the Council. The decision of the Presiding Officer concerning the acceptable
sources is Final and Binding.)

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