Speaking with reporters at the end of the 10th Chief Justices' Conference of SAARC countries in Kathmandu on Sunday, Thakur said that Nepal's constitution was promising as it has embraced the basic principles of human rights, independent judiciary, the rule of law and democracy. Mentioning that the Indian constitution was amended 66 times, Thakur said that the Constitution of Nepal, too, could evolve keeping its basic structure intact.
Chief Justice of Nepal, Kalyan Shrestha said that the conference remained a milestone for the opportunity it provided for fostering cooperation between judiciaries in the region.
Seven-point declaration
The conference, inaugurated by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Saturday, concluded on Sunday adopting a seven-point Kathmandu declaration.
The conference has decided of taking initiatives to disseminate judgments relating to human rights, public interest litigation, environmental and commercial law through the website of the SAARCLAW. The conference has also decided to publish periodic SAARC Law Reports containing landmark judgments and decisions of the apex courts of the South Asian countries.
Likewise, the conference has declared that steps would be taken to foster regional cooperation for the establishment of a SAARC LAW Arbitration Center in Kathmandu.
The conference has also decided to make further use of national judicial academies for mutual exchange of knowledge, skills and experiences of judges, judicial officials and law practitioners in the region, through trainings and visits. It has also decided to share the best practices in court management among the judiciaries in the region and further collaborate with the relevant stakeholders including civil society in order to enhance access to justice for all.
The conference urged the respective governments to provide adequate resources to the judiciary for strengthening its institutional capacity. The conference was attended by Surendra Kumar Sinha, the chief justice of Bangladesh, Tshering Wangchuk, the chief justice of Bhutan, Kalyan Shrestha, the chief justice of Nepal, Ezaj Afzal Khan, the justice representing Pakistani chief justice and K Sripavan, the chief justice of Sri Lanka.
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