The government has put forward the proposal to amend 56 laws that are against the constitutional rules promulgated in 2015.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Dhanraj Gyawali, the government has also sent a proposal to the Cabinet regarding another bill that calls for amendment of more than 110 existing laws.

The government is pushing key bills on a fast pace considering the constitutional deadlines to amend laws, which are just two months away.

Officials are in a hurry because the constitution rules demand mandatory presentation of bills, contradicting with constitution, within one year of the first federal parliament session, in absence of which, they will be deemed invalid.

“We have identified over 170 such laws that need to be amended. Due to time constraint, most of the amendments will be made in bulk through a single bill while separate bills will be registered to amend a few laws which need massive changes,” says Dhanraj.

Single Bill for 56 Laws Altogether
The bill titled ‘Some Nepal Act Amendment Bill’ was registered on December 24, 2018 to amend 56 laws in bulk related to the Local Administration Act (2028 BS), Education Act (2028 BS), along with laws pertaining to the registration of birth, death and other social incidents, Municipal Development Act, Electricity Act, Forest Act, among others.

The Bill calls for allocation of powers to local governments in issuing operational licenses to FM radio stations up to 100 watts, through amendment of provisions in the Broadcasting Act.

The Bill also include amendments to the Anti Money Laundering Act by categorizing office bearers of local units and provincial government as domestic VIPs.

In addition to amending the laws and provisions against the constitutional spirit, the Bill has also proposed amendments to other laws to make them compatible with the government’s latest policies.

Earlier in the September 2018, the government had passed all the Fundamental Rights laws, which included Bills on Individual Privacy, Public Security, Social Security, Right to Food, among others.

Then the government had also announced that it would endorse more than 100 laws in the coming months period.

“There are 110 laws that need to be enacted to ensure constitution implementation. Of them, 37 are yet to be drafted. Some of the issues will also be addressed by the Civil and Criminal Code that comes into force on August 17,” said the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang in a release in September 2018.

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The State Affairs & Good Governance Committee of Nepal Parliament agreed to make amendments to the ‘Bill on Right to Privacy’ allowing public officials to disclose their property and related details issued by legal entities.

The government body took this decision unanimously to ask the public officials to disclose their records to public, informed the Sudarshan Khadka, Secretary at the Committee.

The latest move comes as a response to the widespread criticism over provisions in the Bill, which currently allows civil servants and government officials to keep their property & academic details secret and also has restrictions on taking photographs of public officials and events without approval.

However, the amendments to the Bill demand revisions in the two existing key laws i.e., Corruption Prevention Act and the Judicial Council Act.

Despite willingness of the Cabinet Ministers since 1990s, the Corruption Prevention Act has been safeguarding public officials from submitting their details.

Whereas, the Judicial Council Act allows disclosure only to the Judicial Council and not to anyone else.

Former minister Sher Bahadur Tamang had also proposed amendments to these two laws in line with the latest decision saying that would boost ‘transparency’ in the system.

Based on the current discussions, the Committee Secretariat will now prepare a new report based on the new amendments and will submit the same to the committee for further discussion.

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Enforcement of the new code gave rise to another section of audience i.e. social activists who started demanding harsh #FightAgainstRape convicts of the country.

The country’s famous #RageAgainstRape movement rose to fame again as the activists resumed their protests on social media and offline platforms against #rapeconvicts.

Their demands including capital punishment are gaining momentum in the light of the new code and are coming at a time there is a reported rise in number of rape cases across the country.

Alarming Scenario
According to the #NepaliPolice, the country witnessed around 1,480 rape and 727 related attempt cases during the 2017-18 period, equaling to around four cases a day.

Activists feel that many such cases go unreported with victims being subjected to pressure at their homes and at the fear of being excluded by the community.

“If the victims were supported by the society and family members, there would be more cases reported and many rapists languishing behind the bars,” says Mohna Ansari, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Nepali Police Department agrees to NHRC statement.

“Family members should support the victim even if their relatives are culprit. The victim will be able to recover mentally when the culprit is locked behind the bars,” says Shailesh Thapa, Senior Superintendent of Police.

New Code and Enforcement
While the new code, effective from August 17, 2018, extended the maximum sentencing period of a rape victim from 15 to 20 years, activists feel that this wouldn’t be sufficient and urge for capital punishment.

Senior Advocate and Women’s Rights Activist Anita Sapkota Chapagain agrees that the new law has strict rules, but capital punishment should be introduced to curb such criminal activities.

“Many victims don’t file cases because they are not sure if the authorities will take action against the culprit,” says another Advocate Meera Dhungana while urging the government to enforce more strict laws.

As per the new code:

• Any rape case against a victim of 10 years of age will have the convict subjected to 16-20 years punishment
• 14-16 years punishment, in case of a victim of 10-14-years-old
• 12-14 years punishment, in case of a victim of 14-16-years-old
• 10-12 years punishment, in case of a victim of 16-18-years-old
• 7-10 years punishment, in case of a victim of above 18-years-old

Hope the new law would strive its best in handling the growing menace of rape cases, either by adding more stringent measures or by accepting activists’ demands for imposing capital punishment.

Also Read:

• New Law to Check Transparency in NGO Activities
• Nepal Criminal Code Draws Criticism, ‘Press Freedom’ Plays Vital
• Nepal Civil Code and Criminal Code Acts to Ensure Justice

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Oli Government’s new Criminal Code seems to have started spreading heat waves across the country. As usual, the heat began with the ‘media’ pointing at the new law!

Nepal’s media community has reportedly raised concerns over the new law saying that the new criminal code is suppressing the press freedom.

Press associations have claimed that the government is using the ‘code’ as a tool to silence critics.

Journos Take on Criminal Code

“These general laws can be misused to silence journalists and discourage investigative reporting,” says Govinda Acharya, President, Federation of Nepalese Journalists.

According to Acharya, the new codes have nearly 200 provisions to curtail the press freedom.

“Though several provisions in these codes are positive, almost all sections from 21 to 306 will pose a threat to free press and freedom of expression in one way or the other,” Acharya adds.

Whereas, Press Council Nepal President Borna Bahadur Karki says, “the provisions against press freedom can be amended accordingly, but it is not appropriate to interpret the laws wrongly.”

Meanwhile, Nepal’s popular political cartoonist Rajesh K.C. termed the new law as a means to ‘authoritarianism’.

“Our work is to point out mistakes and abuses of those in power, but these laws can force self-censorship,” says Rajesh, who is known for his satirical cartoons on social issues and country’s politics.

Another premier state-owned media house urged the government to reconsider the law, stating that the new law has lot of scope for interpretations and could be used to prosecute journalists.

“These general laws can be misused to silence journalists and discourage investigative reporting,” says a senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi. Tripathi feels that the new laws placed press freedom at stake.

Badri Sigdel, president of Nepal Press Union (NPU), says the new code is violating the Constitutional provisions and is keen on controlling the press rights. 

Thrashing all statements, Senior Superintendent of Police Thakur Gyawali at the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police says, “Since the new laws have come into force upon their publication in the Nepal Gazette, all should abide by the provisions mentioned therein.”

“Whether or not the laws are against press freedom will come to light in the course of their implementation,” adds Superintendent of Police Narendra Upreti at Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Crime Division.

What’s Criticism in the Code?
The new code has drawn wide criticism majorly for following reasons, i.e.

• It considers sharing confidential information as a jailable offense
• It subjects any individual, involved in publishing of private information or recording audio or capturing pictures without permission, up to three years jail along with a fine
• It considers as an offense any act that intends to damage an individual’s reputation either personally or through satires
• It replaces the country’s 165-year-old practice of ‘Muluki Ain’
• It calls for prosecution of any medical professional causing a patient’s death while undertaking treatment
• It calls ‘unauthorized reporting of communication between two people’ as a serious crime

Now, its worth-wait to see what more mixed reactions the new Criminal Code would drive from other sections of the society too!

Also Read

• Nepal Civil Code and Criminal Code Acts to Ensure Justice

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