If the Parliamentary Hearing Committee gives its green light, Sushila Karki will soon be appointed the Chief Justice of Nepal. With her appointment, three of the four most important government posts in the country—those of the President, the Speaker of the house and the chief of the judiciary—will be occupied by women. This will be another feather in the cap of Nepal which in the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections had elected one of the most inclusive legislatures in the world, with the representation of 33 percent women. All three of the new appointments will be based on the new constitution. What better proof of its inclusive nature! Yes, there are some problematic areas in the constitution, but in totality, especially with its new provision of proportional representation of marginalized communities, it has to be judged among the more inclusive constitutions in the world. How fitting that a woman should now lead the institution that will be the final interpreter of this constitution. In this spirit, we would like to take this opportunity to wish the proposed Chief Justice Sushila Karki the very best of luck.We also wish that the new Chief Justice, upon assuming office, will undertake some much-needed reforms in Nepali judiciary during the 14 months that she will get to head the Supreme Court. One of her big challenges—something that she will inherit from her predecessors as CJ—will be to clear the huge backlog of cases at the apex court. The number of unresolved cases at the SC had reached 21,755 by the end of fiscal 2014/15, with the court able to settle only 20 percent of all cases filed with it at any given time. The job should be easier for Karki's Supreme Court as it will, after the appointment of 11 new justices back in March, be operating at full capacity, with its full quota of 21 judges. Digitizing the database of all courts in Nepal, with the ultimate goal of making Nepali judiciary (largely) paper-free, should be another of her top goals. This will ensure timely justice-delivery and add to the transparency of the traditionally opaque court system.
But her biggest challenge maybe to minimize political interference in the judiciary. The pick of 11 new apex court justices was heavily criticized as some appointments seemed politically motivated. If the names of these justices are cleared in parliamentary hearing, how will Karki ensure that they function independently and impartially? A lot depends on the course Karki charts for the court right at the start. Moreover, there will be added pressure on Karki to prove that she is no less competent than her male predecessors and that her gender has nothing to do with why she will be occupying the highest post in Nepali judiciary. In fact, Karki has already proved her mettle in the Supreme Court by fearlessly prosecuting politically well-connected criminals like JP Gupta and Bal Krishna Dhungel. We hope she applies the same exacting standards in carrying out her added duties in the days ahead. Among other things, meaningful implementation of the new constitution will be possible only with an impartial and independent judiciary that is not beholden to any interests.
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