Constitution
Constitution at a glance
The Constitution of Nepal 2072 (promulgated 3 Ashoj 2072 / 20 September 2015) has 35 parts, 308 articles and 9 schedules. Article 1 makes it the fundamental law: a law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of inconsistency. Nepal is a federal democratic republic with three tiers - federal, 7 provinces, 753 local levels.
Rights architecture
Part 3 (articles 16–46) holds fundamental rights: 16 dignity, 17 freedom, 18 equality, 20 right to justice, 22 against torture, 27 information, 28 privacy, 30 clean environment, 31 education, 38 women, 39 children, 40 Dalits. Article 46 empowers the Supreme Court to issue five writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition and quo warranto. High Courts exercise concurrent writ jurisdiction in their territories.
Organs
Federal Parliament = House of Representatives (275: 165 first-past-the-post, 110 proportional) plus National Assembly (59: 56 elected, 8 per province with at least 3 women, and 3 nominated). The President is head of state; the Prime Minister heads the government. Constitutional bodies include the CIAA, Public Service Commission, Election Commission, National Human Rights Commission and Auditor General.
Worked example
‘Police detain a man four days without producing him in court.’ The remedy is habeas corpus under article 46: it commands the detaining authority to produce the person and justify the detention. Mandamus does not fit (it compels a public duty owed to the petitioner); certiorari quashes an order, which is not what is needed here.
Traps
- Applying the 24-hour production rule while forgetting the proviso: time reasonably necessary to travel from the place of arrest to court is excluded.
- Treating the right to property (article 25) as absolute.
- Confusing the Attorney General (prosecution and legal advice) with the Auditor General.