Lok Sewa Judicial Officer Exam cheat sheet

Nepal's Constitution of 2072 (2015) has 35 Parts, 308 Articles, and 9 Schedules; it was promulgated by the second Constituent Assembly on 3 Ashoj 2072 (20 September 2015).

Article 1 vests sovereignty in the Nepali people; Article 2 sets Nepal as an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive, democratic, socialism-oriented federal democratic republican State.

Citizenship: Article 10 provides single federal citizenship with provincial identity; citizenship by descent, birth, naturalization, and honorary are enumerated in Articles 11-14, with Article 11(5) requiring mother's or father's citizenship for descent.

Fundamental rights (Part 3, Articles 16-46) include right to life (Art. 16), equality (Art. 18), freedom of expression (Art. 19), right to justice (Art. 20), and right against torture (Art. 22); Article 46 allows a victim to claim compensation for violation.

Article 47 makes fundamental rights enforceable; Article 46 provides compensation; writs under Article 133 (Supreme Court) and Article 144 (High Court) cover habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto.

Federal structure: Article 56 has three levels - Federation, Province, Local; Schedule 5 (federal powers), Schedule 6 (provincial), Schedule 7 (concurrent), Schedule 8 (local), Schedule 9 (concurrent local-provincial).

Article 115: President may dissolve House of Representatives only on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers; Article 76 governs PM appointment and Article 78 confidence votes.

Article 274: a bill certified by the President is authenticated; Article 279 (transitional) and Article 304 (amendment) - amendment requires two-thirds majority in each House and provincial assembly ratification for certain provisions.

Civil Procedure Code 2074 (2017) replaced the Civil Procedure Code 2020 BS; Section 3 lays down the general principle that a suit must be filed in the court having territorial and subject-matter jurisdiction.

Section 12 CPC: a plaint must contain the name, address, and description of parties, facts constituting the cause of action, and the relief sought; a plaint can be rejected under Section 14 for want of cause of action or jurisdiction.

Limitation: Section 23 CPC (with Schedule) sets limitation periods - 3 years for contractual claims, 1 year for tort claims, 5 years for mortgage enforcement; limitation is a mixed question of fact and law and can be waived if not pleaded.

Res judicata (Section 27 CPC) bars a second suit between the same parties on the same subject matter; constructive res judicata extends to matters that ought to have been raised.

Under the Civil Code 2074 (2017), contracts require offer, acceptance, and lawful object (Section 505); void contracts include those against public policy (Section 508); damages under Section 526 follow the Hadley v Baxendale remoteness rule.

Marriage under Civil Code Section 66: minimum age 20 for both parties; registration under Section 74; partition (ansha) among coparceners is governed by Sections 129-137.

Appeal against a district court decision lies to the High Court within 30 days under Section 187 CPC; second appeal to Supreme Court under Section 200 on substantial question of law.

Interim injunction (Section 37 CPC) requires prima facie case, irreparable loss, and balance of convenience; ex parte orders must be served within 15 days.

Muluki Criminal Code 2074 (2017) governs substantive offences and sentences; Criminal Procedure Code 2074 governs investigation, arrest, bail, trial, and appeal.

Punishments under Criminal Code Section 40 include imprisonment (kad), fine, and forfeiture; maximum imprisonment for most offences is capped, and life imprisonment is reserved for specified heinous offences (e.g., murder).

FIR (jaharj) registration under Section 18 of the Criminal Procedure Code: any person may report an offence; police must register if the information discloses a cognizable offence.

Arrest: Section 9 CPCr permits arrest without warrant for cognizable offences; Section 11 requires production before the court within 24 hours of arrest (mirroring constitutional Article 20(2)).

Bail: Section 114 CPCr - bailable offences are a matter of right; non-bailable offences lie at judicial discretion; Section 116 restricts bail for offences carrying life imprisonment or death.

Investigation: public prosecutor (sarkari wakil) supervises under Section 4; charge-sheet (abhiyog patra) must be filed within the statutory period; extension requires court approval.

Trial: Section 154 CPCr requires the accused's presence; Section 166 allows trial in absentia for absconders; Section 177 provides for appeal to the High Court within 35 days.

Juvenile justice: Juvenile Justice Act 2075 sets the age of criminal responsibility at 10; children aged 10-18 are tried by juvenile benches, with a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment for serious offences.

Evidence Act 2031 (1974) governs admissibility; Section 3 defines 'evidence' to include oral, documentary, and material evidence.

Burden of proof: Section 24 places the burden on the party who asserts a fact; Section 25 shifts it when a fact is especially within the knowledge of one party.

Section 9: facts in issue and relevant facts may be proved; Section 10 allows proof of motive, preparation, and conduct but excludes bad character except in specified cases.

Confession: Section 23 - a confession to a police officer is inadmissible unless recorded before a magistrate; Section 26 excludes confessions obtained by inducement, threat, or promise.

Dying declaration: Section 31 admits a statement of a person as to the cause of their death; it is admissible even without corroboration but requires the court's satisfaction of reliability.

Documentary evidence: Sections 44-51 require primary documents; Section 49 allows secondary evidence where the original is lost or in the possession of the opposite party.

Expert opinion: Section 44 permits expert testimony; Section 45 (fingerprint) and Section 46 (handwriting) provide specific rules; DNA evidence is admitted as expert evidence under Section 44.

Presumptions: Section 4 provides may-presume and shall-presume classifications; Section 5 lists conclusive presumptions, including the presumption of legitimacy of a child born during a valid marriage.

Judicial review under Article 133 of the Constitution covers writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto against constitutional bodies and public authorities.

Grounds of review: illegality (ultra vires), irrationality (Wednesbury unreasonableness), procedural impropriety (natural justice), and proportionality (applied in Nepal since 2008).

Natural justice: audi alteram partem (right to be heard) and nemo judex in causa sua (no bias); the Supreme Court in Radheshyam Adhikari v Council of Ministers recognized legitimate expectation.

Administrative action must comply with the principle of legality; delegated legislation is ultra vires if it exceeds the parent Act or violates fundamental rights (Article 133(2)).

Ombudsman: the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) under Article 238 investigates corruption and abuse of authority; the National Human Rights Commission under Article 249 monitors rights.

Public Service Commission (Article 242) conducts civil service examinations; its recommendations are binding on the government for permanent appointments.

Administrative Tribunals: the Administrative Court (established under the Administrative Court Act 2053) hears service-related disputes; appeals lie to the Supreme Court.

Locus standi: the Supreme Court has relaxed standing in public interest litigation (PIL) since S.P. Adhikari v Nepal (1992), allowing any citizen to challenge constitutional or statutory violations.

Court hierarchy: Supreme Court (apex, Article 128), seven High Courts (Article 139), and 77 District Courts (Article 148); the Supreme Court has 21 judges including the Chief Justice.

Pleadings under CPC Section 12: plaint must state facts, not law; written statement under Section 21; amendment allowed under Section 21(3) if it does not prejudice the opposite party.

Framing of issues under Section 28 CPC: the court frames issues on points of fact and law in dispute; evidence is led only on framed issues.

Judgment must contain reasons under Section 174 CPC; the Supreme Court in various cases has held that a reasoned decision is a facet of the right to justice (Article 20).

Judicial ethics: the Judicial Council (Article 153) recommends appointments, transfers, and disciplinary action; the Code of Conduct for judges requires independence, impartiality, integrity, and confidentiality.

Contempt of court: the Contempt of Court Act 2032 punishes wilful disobedience of court orders; the Supreme Court has power under Article 128(4) to punish contempt.

Court fees: Court Fees Act 2017 BS; ad valorem fees are payable on plaints; indigent persons may be exempted under Section 15.

Case management: the Supreme Court's Case Management Guidelines (2074) set time limits - civil cases to be decided within 12 months, criminal within 6 months, subject to extensions.

Nepal has 7 provinces, 77 districts, and 753 local units (6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities, 460 rural municipalities).

Federal budget: Article 119 requires the Finance Minister to present the annual budget before the joint session of both Houses; the fiscal year runs from Shrawan 1 to Ashad 31.

Constitutional bodies: CIAA, NHRC, Public Service Commission, Election Commission, National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, and National Women Commission (Articles 238-253).

Civil service: Civil Service Act 2049 classifies services into 11 groups; the Public Service Commission conducts the Lok Sewa examinations under Article 242.

Local government: Local Government Operation Act 2074 assigns 22 exclusive and 15 concurrent functions to local units; Article 57 defines local powers.

National planning: the National Planning Commission (NPC) formulates five-year plans; the 15th Plan (2076-2080) focused on 'Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali'.

International: Nepal joined the UN in 1955, WTO in 2004, and is a member of SAARC (1985), BIMSTEC (1997), and the Belt and Road Initiative (2017).

Governance indicators: Nepal's Corruption Perceptions Index score and rank are published annually by Transparency International; the CIAA publishes annual reports to the President.

Nepali is the official language under Article 7(1); the Devanagari script is used for legal documents; provinces may adopt additional official languages under Article 7(2).

Legal drafting principles: use of precise terms, avoidance of ambiguity, consistent defined terms, and use of 'shall' for mandatory and 'may' for discretionary provisions.

Nepali legal terminology: 'ऐन' (Act), 'नियम' (Rules), 'विनियम' (Regulations), 'अध्यादेश' (Ordinance), 'सूचना' (Notice), 'अनुसूची' (Schedule), 'प्रतिवादी' (Defendant), 'वादी' (Plaintiff).

Statutory interpretation in Nepali: the Nepal Interpretation of Laws Act 2010 (1954) governs interpretation; Section 3 provides that the preamble may be used to ascertain the object of the Act.

Devanagari numerals: ० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९ correspond to 0-9; dates use the Bikram Sambat calendar, which runs approximately 56.7 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar.

Drafting a plaint (निवेदन/फाराम): caption, parties, jurisdiction, cause of action, facts, legal grounds, relief, verification, and signature; the CPC Schedule provides standard forms.

Punctuation: Nepali uses the danda (।) as a full stop and the double danda (॥) to close a paragraph; legal drafts should avoid excessive Sanskritized vocabulary where plain Nepali suffices.

Translation pitfalls: 'jurisdiction' is 'अधिकारक्षेत्र', 'evidence' is 'प्रमाण', 'witness' is 'साक्षी', 'appeal' is 'पुनरावेदन', 'judgment' is 'फैसला', 'decree' is 'आदेश'.

Legal English uses Latin maxims: res judicata, stare decisis, actus reus, mens rea, ultra vires, audi alteram partem, nemo judex in causa sua, ratio decidendi, obiter dicta.

Translation accuracy: preserve legal effect; translate 'shall' as mandatory ('गर्नुपर्नेछ') and 'may' as permissive ('गर्न सकिनेछ'); avoid literal word-for-word translation that distorts meaning.

False friends: 'jurisprudence' means legal philosophy, not 'law'; 'advocate' is a lawyer, not a supporter; 'sentence' in law means punishment, not a grammatical unit.

Passive voice is common in legal English ('It is hereby agreed'); in Nepali, active constructions with 'द्वारा' may be preferred for clarity.

Legal correspondence: formal letters use 'Dear Sir/Madam', 'Yours faithfully', and reference numbers; emails should include subject line, reference, and signature block.

Precis writing: extract the main idea in one-third of the original length; retain legal terms and avoid adding interpretation.

Common translation errors: mistranslating 'decree' (आदेश) as 'order' (आदेश) - in Nepali both may be 'आदेश', but 'decree' is a formal adjudication; 'judgment' (फैसला) differs from 'order' (आदेश).

Idioms in legal English: 'null and void', 'without prejudice', 'in witness whereof', 'hereinafter referred to as', 'subject to the provisions of'.

Transitional justice: the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) were established in 2015; the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered amendments to the TRC Act to exclude amnesty for serious violations.

Federalism disputes: the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court (Article 137) decides inter-governmental disputes; the 2020 case on provincial police jurisdiction is illustrative.

Digital rights: the Electronic Transactions Act 2063 (2006) criminalizes unauthorized access and online defamation; the Privacy Act 2075 (2018) protects personal data.

Environmental law: the Environment Protection Act 2076 (2019) requires an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for specified projects; the Supreme Court has recognized the right to a clean environment under Article 30.

Gender justice: the Supreme Court in 2020 recognized the right to choose gender identity; the Civil Code was amended to allow divorce by mutual consent.

Anti-corruption: the CIAA's jurisdiction extends to public office holders; the Prevention of Corruption Act 2059 (2002) defines corruption and prescribes imprisonment up to 10 years.

Analytical framework: IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) is the standard method for legal problem questions; use facts, apply the rule, and conclude with the likely outcome.

Case analysis: identify ratio decidendi (binding) versus obiter dicta (persuasive); distinguish facts, holding, and reasoning; cite the court, year, and party names.