Law minister insists on free and impartial appointments in judiciary

KATHMANDU: Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Govinda Prasad Sharma Koirala, has said the appointment of judges should be based on merit and it should be carried out freely and impartially. “Competence and qualifications of the candidate should be the criteria to appoint judge instead of political sharing and connection.

In his response to queries raised by lawmakers during the discussions of ministry-wise discussions under the Appropriation Bill-2079 BS in a session of the National Assembly today, he said the violation of criteria in justice appointment would provide a room for malpractices and misconducts in the judiciary.

“We ignored the principle of merit while appointing judges. Competency, qualifications, and past performance of the candidate were dominated by the political and personal relations and because of the same reason judiciary is facing charges of being politicized while various reports also suggest the same,” the Minister said.

He took the time to share that the legal assistance programme aimed to make the justice system accessible for all and ensure equal access to it has been enforced for a long. The legal assistance committee under the Ministry of Law is expected to contribute to increasing citizens’ access to justice, according to the Minister.

“Questions raised here suggest the need to promote austerity in the judiciary. The ministry will make laws on any issue only after research and consultations with the stakeholders.”

The government has accorded first priority to the enforced disappearances and people killed during the armed conflict and other incidents of the violation of human rights in its policies, programmes and budget, he said.

“It is in favour of concluding the transitional justice,” he said, adding that the process of making various laws to implement federalism is underway.

On the occasion, various 15 lawmakers put their views on the matter.