Law Commission : Solicit Views On Idea Of a Uniform Civil Code
The Law Commission recently decided to solicit views from the public on the idea of a uniform civil code.
- Uniform Civil Code(UCC) refers to a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession for all citizens, irrespective of religion.
- Article 44: This Article of the Constitution makes a reference to a UCC and says, “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”
- This is in the chapter dealing with the Directive Principles of State Policy and is therefore presumed to be advisory in nature.
- Article 37: States that the vision of a Uniform Civil Code (along with other directive principles) is enshrined in the Indian Constitution as a goal towards which the nation should strive, but it isn’t a fundamental right or a Constitutional guarantee.
22nd Law Commission:
- The Commission is headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Rituraj Awasthi.
- The Commission, among other things, shall “identify laws which are no longer needed or relevant and can be immediately repealed; examine the existing laws in the light of Directive Principles of State Policy and suggest ways of improvement and reform.
- suggest such legislations as might be necessary to implement the Directive Principles and to attain the objectives set out in the Preamble of the Constitution”; and “revise the Central Acts of general importance so as to simplify them and remove anomalies, ambiguities and inequities”.
- The Commission is also looking into several significant issues like
- Implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
- Holding of simultaneous elections.
