Govt registers amendment bill to review 56 laws in bulk

Published On: December 24, 2018 08:40 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Dec 24: The government has registered a bill in parliament to amend 56 existing laws that contradict the constitution promulgated in 2015.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Dhanraj Gyawali, another bill, which will amend more than 110 existing laws in bulk, has been sent to the cabinet for approval before registering it in parliament.

With the constitutional deadline to amend laws contradicting the statute just two months away, the government has hastily decided to amend those laws in bulk.

The government has taken the initiative to amend the laws in the eleventh hour as the Article 304 of the new constitution states that any law or provision contradicting the spirit of the constitution will be invalid from a year after the first meeting of the federal parliament.

The first meeting of the new constitution was held on March 5 earlier this year after the election of the bicameral parliament under the new constitution.

“We have identified over 170 such laws that need to be amended. Due to time constraint, most of the amendments will be made in bulk through a single bill while separate bills will be registered to amend a few laws which need massive changes,” said Gyawali.

The government registered the ‘Some Nepal Act Amendment Bill’ in the House of Representatives on Sunday to amend 56 laws in bulk including the Local Administration Act (2028 BS), Education Act (2028 BS), laws related to the registration of birth, death and other social incidents, Municipal Development Act, Electricity Act, Forest Act among others.

The bill has proposed delegating power to issue a license for operating FM radio up to 100 watts from the local governments by amending provisions in the Broadcasting Act. Although the constitution has ensured local units the right to issue such license, they were deprived of exercising the right in the absence of related laws.

Likewise, the amendment to the Anti Money Laundering Act has categorized office bearers of the local units and provincial government as domestic VIPS.

In addition to amending the laws and provisions contradicting the spirit of the constitution, the Some Nepal Act Amendment Bill has also proposed an amendment to other laws to make it compatible with the government’s latest policies.