The Nepali Judiciary - Supreme Court Of Nepal

egularly updated; area of mediation should be expanded, provision for proper remuneration for
mediators should be made and the works of the mediators should be regularly monitored.
Provided, mediation is to be properly managed and made effective, it is believed that this process
would not only allow the parties to the dispute reap benefits but this process would also create a
congenial atmosphere in developing positive concepts about the judicial process. In order to
achieve this, it is necessary to effectively implement the provisions of the law and justice should be
service oriented thereby ascertaining everyone an equal and easy access to justice.
In order to make the judicial process accessible and less expensive, provided, minor petitions
deemed necessary during the proceedings of the case is to be provided directly from the court
cells, the court user’s could feel and experience direct assistance from the court and it is also
deemed necessary to disseminate the constraints experienced by the courts and the services
provided by the courts to the court user’s and the same should be disseminated to the general
public and it is also deemed necessary to include the judicial process in the curriculum and
likewise, various informative programs should be implemented by the judiciary.
4.2 Concerns of Stakeholders
Prior to drafting the Plan, the Task Force had conducted various consultations with legal
professionals, gazetted and non-gazetted employees, representatives of non-governmental
organizations involved in the justice sector and with court users regarding the appropriateness of
the Plan and issues to be prioritized by the Plan. 111 During the national conference of the judges,
recommendations and suggestions were sought from judges and other related officers regarding
the status of the implementation of the Plan and matters to be incorporated in the future Plan.
Likewise, written suggestions were also sought from various courts and other stakeholders during
drafting the Plan. 112 Suggestions and concepts expressed during the consultation are provided
herein.
• Strategic Plan is appropriate for judicial reform. The Plan has been successful in bringing
achievements in the area of improvement in physical constructions and on the basis of
experience gained during the implementation of the first Five-Year Strategic Plan; the
second Plan should be drafted. During the consultation, some of the stakeholders opined
that since the country was in a transitional phase and where the structure of the State was
in the process of being restructured they were of the view that the judiciary should draft a
Plan for a period of three-years and with the promulgation of the new Constitution, the
judiciary could draft another Plan taking into consideration the structure and jurisdiction
defined by the new Constitution. Likewise, a majority of the stakeholders opined that even
where the country became federal, the functions of the judiciary would remain the same
and hence voiced for drafting a Plan for a period of five-years. They further opined that in
the event the country became federal, the Plan could be revised and changes could be
made within the Plan.
• With the implementation of the Plan, no particular changes could be experienced in the
area of adjudication. They further opined that the court proceedings are cumbersome and
there is delay in dispensing justice and there are irregularities in many proceedings and
suggested that changes should be made in those areas and the Plan should be
implemented so that the public could experience change in the judiciary.
• Improvement has been made in the physical infrastructure of the courts during the
implementation of the Strategic Plan and buildings with modern infrastructure are being
111
Name list of stakeholders are provided in Annex 6
112
Name list of courts and other Bodies providing written suggestions are provided in Annex 6
62