Nepal Prioritizes Lawmaking for Constitution Implementation, Minister Informs Upper House

Kathmandu. Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Anil Kumar Sinha, stated that the government has kept the formulation of necessary laws for the implementation of the Constitution since its promulgation as a high priority.

Responding to a question from Member of Parliament Madankumari Sah (Garima) during the National Assembly meeting today, Minister Sinha informed the assembly that the continuous process of reforming laws in line with the Constitution and the federal system is ongoing.

According to him, 146 separate acts have been enacted so far in the years following the promulgation of the Constitution. He discussed in the assembly that extensive reforms have been made through the Acts to Amend Some Nepal Laws in various phases to align existing laws with the Constitution and the federal governance system.

Minister Sinha mentioned that under the Act to Amend Some Nepal Laws 2072, 193 acts were amended, while the 2074 Act amended 36 acts and repealed 15 acts. Furthermore, he noted that in 2075, 104 acts were amended and 5 acts were repealed, and 5 acts were amended through the Muluki Code-related Act.

Sixteen acts related to fundamental rights required by the Constitution for their implementation were already enacted on Ashoj 2, 2075. Minister Sinha informed that the necessary regulations for the implementation of these acts have been prepared. However, for some acts, including the Right to Housing Act, the necessary regulations are still in the draft stage at the respective ministries.

While updating on the current status of bills, he stated that 30 bills became inactive due to the dissolution of the parliament. Furthermore, although a prioritized list of 121 bills to be presented in the Federal Parliament following the enactment of the Legislation Act, 2081, was submitted on Ashar 32, 2082, the drafting work for many bills could not proceed due to the dissolution of the House of Representatives.

As per the Delegated Legislation Act, 2081, the deadline for registering directives, procedures, and regulations is set for Chaitra 2. Minister Sinha stated that the ministry is making necessary preparations as there is a possibility that such delegated legislation might need to be redrafted if not registered within the stipulated period.