There is no jury system. Special courts hear cases of terrorism or treason under a high treason law. Until 1963, the Nepalese mulki ain (national code) explicitly stipulated which activities were appropriate for each caste group and provided for penalties for violations of the law. Since the revision of the law in 1963, Mulki Ain has treated all citizens equally before the law. Conflicts that cannot be resolved informally at the village level are subject to the Nepalese legal and judicial system. |~| · When a matter of public rights or interests requires a constitutional or legal solution. · If a substantial deviation in the judgment is deemed to have occurred due to the lack of adequate legal representation, in a case where a party is a minor or a woman or an elderly or disabled or mentally handicapped person. “There are now 644 paralegal committees working in the 23 districts of Nepal where UNICEF is active, and the UN agency plans to expand the programme to all 75 districts by 2013. Members receive basic legal training covering a wide range of topics, from human trafficking and sexual harassment to property laws and the rights of divorced women. Their role is threefold – prevention, detection and victim support – and a 2008 UNICEF study found that they have made a “significant contribution” to ensuring justice for victims of violence and other crimes. To create a legal system that is independent, competent, cost-effective, timely and easily accessible to the public and worthy of public trust, thereby transforming the concept of the rule of law and human rights into a living reality, thereby ensuring justice for all.

An independent judiciary, free from the executive branch of government and from palace interference, was a stated goal of all political parties. Among the many changes that have taken place since the fall of the Ranas in 1951, the most striking are the increasing autonomy of the courts and the progressive liberalization of many fundamental legal principles. However, despite significant improvements, the justice system faces serious obstacles to the delivery of timely, expeditious and fair justice. The independence and integrity of the judiciary have been repeatedly questioned in the press; Interventions by politicians and government officials in the judicial process were frequent; Caste and economic status are important determinants of access to justice. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991*] The judicial system introduced under the Rana regime has remained traditional, despite some limited reforms in the early 1990s. The Muluki Ain of 1854, the legal code introduced by the first Prime Minister Rana Jang Bahadur Rana, combined ancient Hindu sanctions and customary law and general laws modeled on British and Indian codes with the codes of conduct that had developed over the centuries among the Newar of the Kathmandu Valley (see The Kot Massacre in History). [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991*] The Supreme Court is the supreme judicial authority of the country. All court orders and decisions are binding.

Any interpretation of a law or principle of law established by the court is binding on everyone, including the king, if there was one. As the guarantor of individual liberty and fundamental rights conferred by the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to strike down a law at the outset if it finds that the impugned law violates the provisions of the Constitution. The Supreme Court also has the power to issue appropriate orders and orders, including habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto.* Robert A. Paul wrote in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures: “Sherpas have never been organized as such in a coherent political entity. Throughout their history in Nepal, local chiefs have established themselves as authorities based on wealth, personality, religious status, and alliance with non-Sherpa power centers, including the Nepalese state. More recently, the Sherpa region has been integrated into the administrative system of the contemporary Nepalese government. [Source: Robert A. Paul, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 3: South Asia,” edited by Paul Paul Hockings, 1992 |~|]. Nepal does not have separate criminal and civil courts.

There is no jury system. Judges decide all cases and jurisdiction in various cases. The Constitution guarantees the right to legal counsel and a public trial, as well as protection against double compensation and retroactive application of laws. The Public Security Act, passed in the 1980s, allows suspects to be detained for up to three months without charge or trial. Special courts hear cases of terrorism or treason under the Terrorist and Destabilizing Activities (Control and Enforcement) Ordinance. The Full Court, composed of three or more judges, does not decide unanimously on the decision of the Chamber or on cases referred to the Full Court concerning serious questions of interpretation of laws or principles of law by the Chamber or the President of the Supreme Court. The President of the Court may, at his discretion, refer all cases to the Full Court. The Nepal Bar Council is an independent legal institution established by the Nepal Bar Council Act of 1993. The main objectives of the Council are to promote, protect and professionalize the activities of legal practitioners.