Constitutional Council meeting: Chief Justice's recommendation undecided

Prime Minister Oli informed the meeting that the names of 8 qualified judges for the post of Chief Justice have been recommended by the Judicial Council. In the meeting, only one agenda regarding the appointment of the Chief Justice was presented.

All members of the Council were present at the meeting held at the Prime Minister's residence, Baluwatar. Chairman of the main opposition party Maoist and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal argued that it would be better to recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice along with other vacant posts of constitutional bodies. "He said that since the posts of some constitutional bodies have been vacant for a long time, we should recommend the appointment to those posts as well," said the source. That's why the meeting was not inconclusive.'

It is said that the meeting will be held again after further study regarding the appointment of the Chief Justice. After the meeting, Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar said that there was a discussion regarding the appointment of the Chief Justice but no decision was taken. She said that she wanted to stay again soon. According to him, it has been advised to hold another meeting on August 31.

In the meeting presided over by Prime Minister Oli, members of the Council were Chief Justice Vishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire, Speaker of the National Assembly Narayan Dahal, Leader of the main opposition party Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Indira Rana and Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal who is the secretary of the Council participated.

There is a constitutional provision that the Minister of Law and Justice is also a member only in the meeting to recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice. Law Minister Ajay Chaurasia was absent from the meeting. Chief Justice Shrestha 65 years old He is going on leave from October 19 due to

limits. Article 284(3) of the Constitution stipulates that the Council must recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice or any head or officer of a constitutional body one month before the vacancy occurs. However, the said provision is not being implemented.

The Judicial Council has sent the names of 8 senior judges to the Council for the appointment of the Chief Justice. The names of Supreme Court judges Prakashman Singh Raut, Sapna Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Kumar Regmi, Hariprasad Phuyal, Manoj Sharma, Kumar Chudal and Nahkul Subedi have been sent to the Constitutional Council by the Supreme Court. Raut is likely to become the next Chief Justice if the roll order is not changed in the Supreme Court. There is a tradition of making the most senior judge the Chief Justice.

Apart from the Chief Justice, the Council will also have to recommend the appointment of four other vacant posts of the Constitutional Commission. One member of the Election Commission, the Chairman of the Inclusion Commission and one member of the National Finance, Women and Muslim Commission are vacant. The leader of the opposition party, Dahal, has argued that the appointment should be recommended for all the vacant posts simultaneously.

The current government is in the minority in the Constitutional Council. In the 6-member council, Speaker of the National Assembly Narayan Dahal and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Indira Rana Magar have been elected from the opposition party. The leader of the main opposition party is a member of the

council. If Dahal and Rana support any stand of the main opposition party, there is no possibility of reaching a decision in the meeting. According to Act 2066 on Constitutional Council (Works, Duties, Powers and Procedures), if the Chairman and at least four other members are present, a quorum is considered to be present for the Council meeting. However, there is a legal provision that the decision of each subject presented in the meeting is based on consensus.

There is a legal provision that a decision can be made by the majority of all members of the council from the third meeting in the event that there is no consensus decision in two meetings. If the Chief Justice remains 'neutral', the government does not even have a simple majority in the Council. Even if the Chief Justice is with the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are on the side of the government and the leader of the main opposition party, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives are in the opposition camp.

In the current situation, it is difficult for the government to get a favorable decision from the Constitutional Council without the support of the opposition.