Assessing the Function of Judicial Committees in Nepal: Case Study of Bhaktapur District
Riya Bhattarai
Published 2021-03-30
Keywords
- Constitution of Nepal, federalism, three tiers of government, local level, judicial committee, judicial power, Article 217.
How to Cite
Abstract
The transition of Nepal from a unitary set-up to a federal system has come with a host of institutional changes that are both functional and structural in nature. The existing institutions of the State have been refurbished towards implementing the new federal constitution. All the organs of government have devolved their power to all three tiers of government to address the concerns of the citizenry. In a similar vein, Article 217 of the Constitution of Nepal (hereinafter Constitution) has revived traditional dispute settlement mechanisms to mitigate the inefficiencies of the formal legal system by envisioning judicial committees that devolve judicial power to the local level. This paper is an attempt to analyze whether these judicial committees are functioning effectively and explore the challenges that they face in exercising their judicial power.
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References
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3 Ibid
4 R Krishna Prasad Timilsina, ‘Problems and Prospects of Local Judicial Committee in Nepal’, Journal of Political Science, volume 20, 2020.
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7 Pokhrel & Karim (n 5).
8 Krishna Prasad Timilsina (n 4).
9 Balananda Paudel & Krishna Prasad Sapkota, ‘Local Levels in Federalism Constitutional Provisions and the State of Implementation’, The Asian Foundation, July 2018, available at https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Local-Levels-in-Federalism_Constitutional-Provisions-and-the-State-of-Implementation-English-Version.pdf, accessed on 20 September 2020.
10 Suresh Adhikari,'Making Federalism Work', The Kathmandu Post, Nepal, 4 March 2018.
11 Nepal ko Sambidhan (Constitution of Nepal), sch. 8.
12 Paudel & Sapkota (n 5).
13 Sthaniya Swayatta Sasan Ain 2055 (Local Self-Governance Act1999), s. 33.
14 Ibid, s. 101.
15 Shrestha &Wagley (n 1).
16 Sthaniya Sarkar Sanchalan Ain 2074 (Local Government Operation Act 2017), s. 47 (2)(k).
17 Constitution( n 11), sch. 8.
18 Shrestha & Wagley (n 1).
19 Ibid.
20 Lead International, 'Pahunch: Strengthening the Poor and Marginalized Communities’ Access to Justice and Security in Nepal’, Search for Common Ground, 2019, Nepal.
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