The Supreme Court bench compromised of Judges Ishwar Khatiwada and Nahakul Subedi. They passed the order after a writ was petitioned by Pandey and Bhatta.

The court had earlier sounded the CPN-UML party not to take any action against the lawmakers if they chose to join the CPN (Unified Socialist).

Both the lawmakers wanted to join the CPN (Unified Socialist). Despite their inclination, a fumble on the lawmakers caused this court battle. They had earlier missed the signing of the party registration application. After their faux pas, Election Commission refused to recognize them as members of CPN (Unified Socialist).

The refusal to recognize the political migration would have resulted in the loss of the official positions that the lawmakers held. However, the Supreme Court order has nullified such an instance.

Stay Tuned to NepaliSansar for Latest Nepal Govt News Updates!

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The post Supreme Court Allows 2 Lawmakers to Join CPN-Unified Socialist appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) of the Federal Parliament approved Nepal’s senior most justice Rana’s name for the country’s top judicial post on January 01, 2019.

The new appointment followed a thorough PHC hearing procedure on December 29, 2018 and January 01, 2019.

Rana took up the new role after swearing the oath of office and secrecy in Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s presence on January 02, 2019 and will continue in his new role until four years.

The hunt for the new Chief Justice began when ex-Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra retired due to expiration of age limit (65 years) for the said post.

Justice Rana’s Hearing Process

During the hearing process on January 01, 2019, Rana was asked a series of questions and queries by the Parliamentary panel including 10 members from the National Assembly and the House of Representatives.

Committee members asked Rana questions on his work plan and complaints reported against him.

On the first day of the hearing Rana presented his work plan that he is supposed to execute after becoming CJ.

Rana’s 10-point work plan encompasses improving the level of judicial responsibility & good governance, people’s access to justice and increasing Nepalis’ trust in judiciary case management & justice delivery.

Besides, he also extended his commitment to the regulatory body to curb corruption in the country.

However, the committee was not fully convinced on Rana’s ability to become Chief Justice.

PHC Committee Dissatisfied

“The PHC grilled Rana thoroughly on Sunday and today before recommending him for the post of CJ despite having doubts about his ability to become the CJ because of his track record,” said Laxman Lal Karna, PHC Chairman.

According to sources, the committee will frequently monitor Rana’s work as it was not satisfied with his clarifications on previous verdicts.

The PHC Committee received nine complaints against Rana, out of which two were serious concerns that lawmakers also consider as controversial verdicts.

“They pose a question mark on Rana’s ability to become chief justice,” said Lawmaker, Neeru Devi Pal.

“Rana should not treat the clearance given by the committee as a ‘carte blanche’. “If he fails to execute his tasks properly, the Parliament will not let him go scot-free,” said Surendra Pandey, Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Lawmaker.

In his defense Rana said that the verdicts were made in accordance with the provisions of the law.

“The three organs of the state should function independently. The SC will not create hurdles for the government to initiate and execute development work if those actions do not violate the country’s laws and the constitution,” added Rana.

All said and done, Nepali Sansar wishes the Honorable Chief Justice good luck for his new role!

Chief Justice Rana Will Not Assign Cases to SJ Joshee
Newly-appointed Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana assumed office on January 02, 2018.

Following his appointment, Rana announced that he will not be assigning any cases to senior-most justice Deepak Raj Joshee at a press briefing.

Earlier, the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) had rejected Joshee’s nomination for the post of Chief Justice on August 03, 2018.

Speaking to the media, Rana said, “I haven’t assigned any case to senior-most justice Deepak Raj Joshee. I shall not assign him any cases in future either.”

The new Chief Justice explained that he took the decision following his commitment and respect for PHC.

“Even though he is my good friend and the senior-most justice, I took this stern decision because we need to respect the system and make headway with the problems facing the judiciary,” he further said.

Despite the presence of all the SC judges during the press briefing, Joshee was absent from the event.

However, Joshee said that he would continue to come to office since he had a lot more to do.

“I shall come to office continuously because I still have so much I need to do,” said Joshee.

Besides, Chief Justice Rana also assured media that the judiciary will be more stronger and united.

“We were not divided even in the past. There was no factionalism and groupism as such. But there is criticism at the level of the public that we are divided and that groupism was rife within the judiciary. Look at us here. We are all here at the press conference.” he said.

On his first day at work, Rana reshuffled benches for assigning cases to justices even when they could not hear many cases because of their busy schedule following the new CJ’s appointment.

Rana also asked media to deal sensitively with comments on tasks of judges and court activities while exercising their freedom of opinion on judicial matters.

About Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana
Earlier, Rana served as an appellate court judge beginning April, 1996 and a Supreme Court justice from May 26, 2014.

Justice Cholendra Shamsher became the Supreme Court’s permanent justice in 2071 BS.

The post Rana Appointed Nepal Chief Justice Amid Debate appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The list includes single motherhood rights, the upcoming anti-bullying policy, the introduction of a consumer court and very recently, the Civil Code Act and Criminal Code Act!

Today, Nepal’s new Civil Code Act and Criminal Code Act which envision to bring major reforms in the country’s legal system, will come into play.

So, how do Nepalis benefit from them?
The Civil Code Act provisions the following:

• The law states that if a Nepali couple or a Nepali and foreigner take divorce in a foreign country, it can get legal validity in Nepal if the divorce process is based on the laws of that particular country
• It also allows a divorced women the right to use the property given by her former husband gives her, even if she remarries
• It allows a woman the right to use her father’s surname, mother’s surname, husband’s or both the couples’ surnames
• It provisions ‘usufruct’, which allows a person to transfer his/her property to somebody else. The receiving person can use the property as his/hers but cannot change the substance of the property without the owner’s consent
• It stipulates that an animal owner will be held responsible, if the animal harms a person

The Criminal code provisions the following:

• It provisions courts to enact extraterritorial jurisdiction whereby a crime is committed against a ship registered in Nepal then the courts can try the accused is he/she is found in Nepal
• It states that the punishment of offenders who are sentenced to jail for one year or less can be suspended if the court deems it fit to do so
• The new penal code sets the duration of life term up to 25 years
• There is a provision of plea bargain where an accused can get a punishment waiver of up to 50% if he/she confesses to his/her crime and also reveals other persons involved in the offensive act
• The court will decided the magnitude of punishment within a month after the committed crime is determined
• The penal code also that manipulating and misleading circumstances/factors will also be taken into consideration while declaring the sentence

According to Lawmaker Radhe Shyam Adhikari— a key person involved in drafting the laws,  lawmakers have incorporated modern concepts and principles of laws and have also involved extra territorial jurisdiction on some issues.

“These laws are as important as the constitution and in some cases, even more than the constitution because they touch upon the lives of every citizen,” Adhikari added.

Conclusion:
The two new codes will replace the 55-year old Nepal General Code.

We hope that the new laws will deliver the expected results and create a disciplined yet friendly-environment for the Himalayan Nation’s citizens.

The post Nepal Civil Code and Criminal Code Acts to Ensure Justice appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

These include National Assembly Members Election Bill-2075, Commission on Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIED) and Truth and Reconciliation (First Amendment) Bill -2075 and other bill pertaining to the job descriptions and benefits of the House of Representatives (HoR) Secretary and National Assembly Secretary-2075.

HoR passed the transitional justice bill in a meeting on July 02, 2018.

The bill entitled ‘Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (First Amendment) Bill’ replaces the ordinance formed by the erstwhile Deuba-led Nepal Government and extends the tenure of two transitional justice mechanisms: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and CIEDP.

Prior to the latest move, both the houses have passed the bill and had sent it to President Bhandari for endorsement.

This is not only about the two commissions, it is also about the peace process. The peace process will not end without settling conflict era cases, says Sher Bahadur Tamang, Minister of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs

So far, CIEDP has received a total of 3,093 complaints, of which, it recommended 2,258 complaints for detailed investigation after completing preliminary investigations, and more than 250 complaints are currently under detailed investigation.

On the other side, there are also 60,000 complaints on TRC table and 7,000 of them are currently under investigation. The commission has set up at least one office in every province for the task.

Landmark Bill Receives Nod

In another major parliamentary update, the long-awaited landmark National Medical Education Bill-2075 also received a nod recently for further approval through ordinary legislative procedure.

The government placed the Bill in the House on July 01, 2018 and has been taken ahead for parliamentary process with all-round support from all political parties including opposition for its endorsement.

As a replacement to the National Medical Education Ordinance issued by the government around eight months ago, the new Bill is being considered as the need of the hour for the nation towards addressing issues in the field of country’s medical education and healthcare sector as a whole.

This update comes as a good news for all the related stakeholders including doctors from reputed medical and healthcare departments of the country who have been relentlessly fighting for reforms in medical education the same led by the country’s renowned surgeon and social activist KC Govinda.

Business Advisory Panel Soon

Nepal Parliament is also ready to approve a new Business Advisory Panel that will be live very soon.

The Parliamentary Secretariat has already received names of lawmakers from the country’s political parties including opposition, which will be presented at the Parliamentary Public Hearing Committee by end of the day of July 03, 2018.

We have asked the parties to submit names of lawmakers in order to form various parliamentary panels as soon as possible, says Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Parliament Speaker 

According to HoR Secretary Gopal Yogi, the committee is most likely to be formed on July 04, 2018, which is also the deadline for all the parties to submit the names of recommended lawmakers to be represented in the committee.

The post Nepal Policy Update: Key Bills Passed, Others On the Way appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

During the special hour of the Parliament on Wednesday, lawmakers from different parties demanded immediate action from the Nepal government on various scams including Nepal Oil Corporation’s land purchase scam, the corporate tax waiver scam, the Ncell tax settlement issue and the Budhagandaki contract award.

Nepali Congress MP Dhan Raj Gurung urged the speaker to take the initiative in probing the scams and acting against the culprits. He criticized the leaders for not taking a stand against corruption involving corporate houses and the Tax Commission members Lumbadhwaj Mahat and Umesh Dhakal, who are currently absconding.

Ram Narayan Bidari of CPN (Maoist Center) drew the attention of the government to the ongoing fast-unto-death undertaken by Dr. Govinda KC.

The post MPs Slam Government for Silence on Multi-Billion Rupee Scams appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Lack of business has forced a seven-day adjournment of the Parliament yesterday. Bharat Raj Gautam, the Spokesperson for the Parliament Secretariat, said that there are 53 bills still due for consideration of which a few have been pending for almost three years. According to him, many bills under consideration would need to be passed by the Parliament on priority in order to comply with the constitutional deadline of conducting the local, provincial and parliamentary elections by January 21 next year.

The bills requiring urgent attention of the lawmakers include those pertaining to the election of the House of Representatives, National Assembly, Upper House of the Parliament, and election of the president and vice-president.

While the Parliament has previously debated and is ready to pass the bills related to civil code, penal code, social practice reform and rights of disabled persons, only 7 of the pending 53 bills are ready to be tabled.

The post Parliament Adjourned Despite 53 Bills Due for Consideration appeared first on Nepali Sansar.