Governance and governability in South Asian family laws and in diaspora

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This paper, providing one example each from Indian and from Pakistani law, with heavily contested litigation fallouts under English law and in English courts, discusses first why there are significant elements of mistrust in local and particularly translocal relationships that impact on how individuals and whole communities make choices in relation to dispute resolution. Conflicts arise not only over legal processes, costs and delays, but also increasingly in relation to the value systems involved in different types of family law regulation. This may be more so when people cross the boundaries between formal and informal methods of dispute settlement and when non-state jurisdiction and formal governance, in South Asia and elsewhere in the world, are seen to be clashing. South Asians as skilled cultural and legal navigators on a global scale are shown to be more resourceful kite flyers in this regard than states, which may have institutional power, but often do not possess the cultural knowledge and sensitivities needed to inspire trust in bringing about satisfactory resolutions of disputes.