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Constitution of Nepal

Supreme law of Nepal

  • 23 min read
  • 9 chapters

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Through Nepal, Constituent assembly and Head of state

The Constitution was drafted by the Second Constituent Assembly following the failure of the First Constituent Assembly to produce a constitution in its mandated period after the earthquake in April 2015. The constitution was endorsed by 90% of the total legislators. Out of 598 Constituent Assembly members, 538 voted in favour of the constitution while 60 people voted against it, including a few Terai-based political parties which refrained from the voting process.

Its institutions were put in place in 2010 and 2018 through a series of direct and indirect elections in all governing levels.

The constitution has been amended twice since it's promulgation: first in 2072 BS (2016 AD), and second in 2077 BS (2020 AD).

History

The Interim Constitution provided for a Constituent Assembly, which was charged with writing Nepal's temporary constitution. Under the terms of the Interim Constitution, the new constitution was to be promulgated by 28 April 2010, but the Constituent Assembly postponed the promulgation by a year because of disagreements. On 25 May 2011, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled that the 2010 extension of the Interim Constitution was not legal. Since 29 May 2011 the Constituent Assembly repeatedly extended the Interim Constitution.

On 28 May 2012, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved after it failed to finish the constitution after the latest extension, ending four years of constitution drafting and leaving the country in a legal vacuum. New elections were held on 19 November 2013 to the Second Nepalese Constituent Assembly and political leaders pledged to draft a new constitution within a year. The new assembly expressly committed that the new constitution would be promulgated on 22 January 2015. However, due to continued differences on key issues including system of governance, judicial system and federation issues like number, name and areas of the states to be carved, the constitution could not be finalized and promulgated in time.

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