KATHMANDU, April 10: The Constitutional Council on Monday recommended Supreme Court Justice Sushila Karki for the post of chief justice. She will be the first female to lead the judiciary in Nepal.
The Constitutional Council, meeting on Sunday evening, decided to recommend Karki's name for parliamentary hearings towards appointment as chief justice. As per the constitution, the president of the country appoints the chief justice on the recommendation of the council if the Parliamentary Hearings Committee endorses the recommendation.According to the Prime Minister's Press Advisor, Pramod Dahal, PM KP Sharma Oli met Speaker Onsari Gharti at Sumeru Hospital, where she is ungoing treatment, and took her consent for the recommendation.
Incumbent Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha retires on Wednesday upon reaching the age limit.
26th Chief Justice
Sushila Karki will become the 26th chief justice and the first female in the post in Nepal's history. She will lead the judiciary for almost 14 months, until she retires on June 7, 2017 upon reaching the age limit.
Karki was appointed ad-hoc justice at the Supreme Court on January 22, 2009 and as permanent justice on November 18, 2010.
Currently, she is the seniormost justice at the Supreme Court. She is now also a member of the Judicial Council. She is also chairperson of the IT Committee and Case Management Committee at the Supreme Court. She is a member of the Constitutional Bench.
Born in Biratnagar on June 7, 1952, she completed a bachelor's degree in law from Tribhuvan University in 1978. She has also done her post graduate in political science from Banaras Hindu University. Karki has been a member of the International Association of Women Judges since 2010.
She was a senior advocate before she was appointed to the apex court in 2009. She was accorded the title of senior advocate in 2004.
Karki was president of the Appelate Court Bar Association Biratnagar for a term until 2004. She was also a known human rights activist until her appointment to the Supreme Court and was associated with the Human Rights Organization and Amnesty International Nepal.
Married to a well-known Nepali Congress leader Durga Subedi, they have a son.
Hurdle of parliamentary hearings
Though the Constitutional Council has recommended Karki for the next chief justice, the absence of a Parliamentary Hearings Committee could delay her formal appointment.
There is a dispute among political parties at the Parliamentary Regulations Drafting Committee over the formation of the hearings committee, and Parliament is yet to finalize the procedures and the size of the hearings committee itself.
Until the parliamentary hearings process is completed, Karki will lead the judiciary as ad-hoc chief justice.
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