QUAZI SYSTEM AN ISSUE IN HAND

Once again the Quazi system has become the focal point of the country. But this time quite differently it has popped up to almost everyone’s dismay.

The cabinet of the current government, as per the media reports, has taken a decision to do away with the Quazi system. Muslims are shocked to hear this news. At the same time, some people who are allergic to the Quazi system welcome the decision with open arms. A small number of people who demanded reforms to the Quazi system far beyond the parameters of the Islamic Principles did not digest this piece of news.

Everybody must know at the outset that the Quazi system developed from the social custom that prevailed among the Muslims in Sri Lanka. Matrimonial discords were amicably settled with the intervention of one or two members from the side of the husband, one or two members from the side of the wife and one or two prominent figures in the area under the guidance of a Muslim priest of the locality. This practice was prevalent even at the time of arrival of Portuguese in Sri Lanka. It continued as an unwritten law till 1934.

Following the amendment to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Ordinance No.: 09 of 1934, the Quazi system was absorbed into the legal framework, thus continuing to date.

The Quazi system, as enshrined in the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, functioned with no blemish except for a few isolated instances. Unfortunately, the Quazi system began to deteriorate after 2000 and subsequently complaints mounted up and voices were raised against the Quazi system high and low. Finally, the entire Quazi system came under attack by many people.

Some good people who did a survey of the status quo of the Quazi system have found reasons for deterioration of the Quazi system. If such reasons are eliminated, the Quazi system will prove a great success again like before.

The whole Quazi system can be simply and easily put in order just by:

01. Introducing more qualifications for the appointment of Quazis and members of the Board of Quazis.

02. Empowering the Quazis.

03. Providing the Quazis decent places to conduct their business.

04. Paying the Quazis a decent honorarium.

05. Providing the Quazis with necessary support staff and materials.

06. Conducting regular competence enhancement programmes for the Quazis and members of the Board of Quazis.

It is true that the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act does not attach much importance to the above six areas. But one should know why it is so. As we saw hereinbefore, the practices the Muslim Community had evolved into the Quazi system. At the time the Quazi system was introduced by law, the then lawmakers did not take into account the qualifications for the Quazis, empowering them, providing them with offices, support staff and materials, paying them decent honorarium and conducting competence enhancement programmes, etc. In fact, there was no need for the lawmakers topay much attention to these areas for the reasons outlined hereunder:

01. The Quazi was an educated personality.

02. The Quazi wasa person with dignity and decorum and sufficient means of income.

03. The scope of the Quazi’s work was primarily reconciliation.

04. The Quazi had a spacious place in his house to hear the cases.

05. The Quazi did the work entrusted to him with no pecuniary intention.

The late M.M.M. Mahroof elucidates this fact in the following beautiful lines:

‘The staple of the Quazi’s work, however,is outlined in item (h). The Quazi is basically a mediator, the peace-maker between husband and wife. The Quazi court is the least in court-looking. The model Quazi is an attorney-at-law or an important man among the Muslims of the locality. Frequently, he is the trustee of the local mosque. Invariably, he is a man of means. His house reflects that quality.

The Quazi court is held often in the verandah or the anteroom of his house on a weekend. The parties to the cases lounge about or sit about. Secretarial services are minimum; the Quazi is sometimes assisted by a clerk. When cases are actually heard, they are statements, entirely oral, by the parties with intersections by the Quazi. The task of the Quazi is not to frame issue but to pinpoint the areas of agreement and work towards the reconciliation. Hence, Quazi cases take a long time to be settled. Some are thus forgotten by all the parties concerned. Most achieve a state of reconciliation.

Yet, there may be a hardcore of cases. Here the Quazi is assisted by assessors who know the local background and the custom of the area. Assessors are necessary because lawyers are not permitted to appear before Quazis.’ (Exploring Sri Lankan Muslims, Page : 477)

That was the status of the Quazi system till the latter part of the last century. Now the situation has changed to a large extent. We badly need to streamline the Quazi system. We have to go into the deficiencies in the current system and bring in necessary amendments to overcome them and keep the Quazi system run efficiently.

It is not at all wise to kill a system just because of the shortcomings in its administration and the lapses on the part of the people who drive it. Every man-made system has its own flaws. Quazi system is no exception. We have to bear in mind that destruction is much easier than construction. A healthy person falls ill. What will we do? Will we treat him to cure his diseases or throw him away to get rid of him? We are an educated and cultured society. We do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.


H. Abdul Nazar

14.09.2021