KATHMANDU, March 16: The Constitutional Council (CC) has once again failed to meet the procedural requirements of the Parliamentary Hearings Special Committee (PHSC) over the naming of a new chief justice.
The CC is required to send the name of the successor to the outgoing chief justice 20 days before the latter retires from the post. [break]
The CC has even failed to hold a meeting when there are just 10 days left before Chief Justice Anup Raj Sharma takes retirement.
"The CC should already have recommended a new name for the post of chief justice," said Sher Bahadur KC, an advocate, adding, "The CC appears not to be acting seriously. It should name a successor at the earliest. "
He added that the CC itself is violating the law and parliamentary regulations by failing to name a successor to the chief justice on time.
The CC, the final authority for recommending a candidate for the top judicial post, comprises the prime minister, the chief justice himself, the speaker of parliament, the leader of the main opposition party and two ministers nominated by the prime minister.
As per the procedures, the hearings committee has to complete its hearings at least one week before the incumbent chief justice retires. Chief Justice Sharma is retiring on March 26.
According to legal experts, the CC should have recommended a candidate for new chief justice at least one week ago.
The meeting of the CC has been canceled on one occasion after another due to the absence of the opposition Maoist party and various pressures on Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
"We are a bit late for recommending a new chief justice," said Law and Justice Minister Prem Bahadur Singh, adding, "However, there is a greater chance of a CC meeting taking place on Tuesday to recommend a new chief justice." He also indicated that the CC meeting could take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
"The hearings process should be completed before the serving chief justice retires,” KC, who is also a former vice-president of Nepal Bar Association, told myrepublica.com.
The CC meeting was deferred for the sixth time as main opposition party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, one of the CC members, did not attend.
The Judicial Council has already submitted a list of senior Supreme Court justices who are eligible for appointment as chief justice.
SC Justices Ram Prasad Shrestha, Kheel Raj Regmee, Balaram KC and Top Bahadur Magar were recommended by the Judicial Council. Among them, Justice Shrestha is seniormost. To date, the CC has not over-ruled seniority while recommending appointment of the chief justice.