KATHMANDU, June 1: Chief Justice Choldrendra SJB Rana has agreed to reconstitute the Constitutional Bench based on the seniority of justices at the apex court to permanently settle the dispute concerning the formation of the bench.
The agreement was reached after a meeting between the officials of Supreme Court Bar and Chief Justice Rana on Tuesday. "There has been an agreement to form a constitutional bench on the basis of seniority of justices. This will pave the way for permanently resolving the dispute surrounding the formation of the bench to resolve constitutional issues," said Secretary of Supreme Court Bar Reeshi Ram Ghimire.
According to Ghimire, the justices who have potential conflict of interest in the case being heard can skip the bench and a justice who is immediate next in seniority will be picked in the bench in such a case. "This is a major breakthrough concerning the formation of the bench to settle the constitutional issue," Ghimire further said.
Constitutional Bench formed on basis of seniority and expertise...
According to President of Supreme Court Bar Association Purna Man Shakya, a regulation related to the operation of constitutional bench will now be endorsed by a full court to form constitutional bench on the basis of seniority of justices at the Supreme Court. A decision to this effect will then be formally taken by the Judicial Council.