Major Amendment Updates on the Constitution of Nepal, 2015 (Sept
20)
1.
First Amendment Bill-
Registered on 24 January 2016:
Summary:
Ø The
Legislature-Parliament endorsed the Bill on First Amendment of Constitution of
Nepal and amended the country’s charter with two thirds majority 4 months
after its promulgation.
Ø The amendment
aimed at resolving the ongoing agitation by the Madhesi parties. The lawmakers
of agitating parties, however, boycotted the voting that evening, saying the
purported amendment was incomplete and would not address their demands.
Ø When put to
vote, the Bill garnered 461 votes in its favour. Seven lawmakers, including
from the Nepal Peasants and Workers Party, voted against it.
Ø Taking into
consideration the demands of the Madhes-based parties, the amendment has
included provisions to ensure proportional representation and electoral
constituencies based on population. For that, two articles — Article 42 and
Article 286 — were amended.
Summary:
Ø Second time the government worked to amend the new constitution after its promulgation in September last year, but the proposal could not be passed due to agitation in province no. 5, especially due to protests on boundary issues.
Ø The
proposal was backed by most major political parties of Nepal except the main
opposition CPN (UML).
Ø The
constitution amendment proposal, included four broad issues, namely 1) redrawing
provincial boundaries, 2) recognition of languages, 3) citizenship and 4) representation
in the National Assembly in Nepal's constitution.
Ø The
proposal of the second amendment, the demarcation of provinces 4 and 5 were to be
changed by swapping some districts. Details follow in the table below.
Ø On
language, the proposal sought to give new languages the status of the national
language and include them in the constitution's schedule in line with the
report given by the Language Commission formed by the government.
Ø On
Citizenship, the proposal read, 'any foreign woman married to a Nepalese
male can obtain naturalized citizenship after she initiates the process to
renounce her citizenship of the country of her birth.'
Ø On the
Upper House of the Parliament, the proposal sought to make inclusive representation
of one member each from Dalit, woman and minorities or PWDs categories (totaling
21 members at the rate of 3 from each of 7), and the remaining thirty five to
be elected on the basis of population of each province. However, the overall
number of the representatives of the Upper House remains unchanged as set forth
by the constitution (i.e. 59 consisting 56 from Assemblies and 3 from
nomination of the President).
3.
Second Amendment (Second proposal)-
Registered on 11 April 2017.
Ø The
government withdrew the first proposal of the second constitution amendment
bill registered at the House at noon of 11 April, 2017 and registered the
second proposal of the second amendment in the evening of 11 April 2017.
Ø The
government decided to register the amendment proposal in a bid to address the
concerns of the Madhes-based parties before the local level elections slated
for May 14, 2017.
Ø The second
proposal sought to amend eight issues of the old amendment bill. The bill
registered, however, does not propose any change in boundary of provinces as
suggested by the first proposal of the second amendment bill.
Ø Among the
eight issues, provisions relating to the National Assembly, citizenship and
language have been kept intact from the first proposal.
Ø An issue
of amending Article 274 related to alteration of borders has been added in the
proposal. The new proposal seeks to make the alterations in boundaries of the
States easier as the Bill so introduced needs to be consented by only the
States concerned. Previously, such Bill was to be consented by all the State
Assemblies.
Ø Similarly,
the Bill proposes to remove representatives of chief and deputy chief of the
local level from the electoral college to be formed for the constitution of the
National Assembly.
Ø The new
amendment bill has a provision of forming a federal commission to decide on the
thorny issues of number of States and alterations in their boundaries.
Article
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Before Amendment
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First Proposal of the Amendment
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Latest Proposal/Remarks
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Article
6: Languages of the Nation
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'' All
languages spoken as the mother tongues in Nepal are the languages of Nepal.
''
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''As per Article 6,
recommendations shall be made to Nepal Govt in relation to all the mother
tongues spoken in Nepal (to be recognized as official language).''
|
Note: This
provision has been still retained in the second proposal as well, as it was
proposed in the first attempt of second amendment:
''As
per Article 6, recommendations shall be made to Nepal Govt in relation to all
the mother tongues spoken in Nepal (to be recognized as official language).''
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Article
7: Official Language
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This
provision did not exist.
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New: Upon
Language Commission's recommendation of the status of official language,
Nepal Government shall include such language(s) in the schedule of the
Constitution,
|
Note: This
provision has been still retained in the second proposal as well, as it was
proposed in the first attempt of second amendment:
''Upon
Language Commission's recommendation of the status of official language,
Nepal Government shall include such language(s) in the schedule of the
Constitution.''
æEffiff cfof]usf] l;kmfl/;df g]kfn ;/sf/n] ;/sf/L
sfdsfhsf] efiff egL lg0f{o ul/Psf efiffx?nfO{ ;+ljwfgsf] cg';"rLdf ;dfj]z
ug]{5 . Æ
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Schedule 4: State Boundaries
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State no. 4: 11 Districts
Gorkha,
Lamjung, Tahahun, Kaski, Manang, Mustang, Parbat, Syangja, Myagdi, Baglung,
Nawalparasi(East of Bardaghat Susta)
State no. 5: 12 Districts
Nawalparasi(west
of Bardaghat Susta)
Rupandehi,
Kapilbastu, Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, Rukum(eastern Part), Rolpa, Pyuthan,
Daang, Banke, Bardiya (12 Districts)
|
State no 4: 17 Districts
Gorkha,
Lamjung, Tahahun, Kaski, Manang, Mustang, Parbat, Syangja, Myagdi, Baglung,
Palpa, Gulmi,Arghakhanchi, Nawalparasi(East of Bardaghat Susta), Rolpa,
Pyuthan and Rukum (eastern part)
State no. 5: 6 Districts
Nawalparasi(west
of Bardaghat Susta)
Rupandehi,
Kapilbastu, Daang, Banke, Bardiya
æ;+ljwfgsf] cg';"rL–$ sf] k|b]z g+= $ / %
sf] ;6\6f b]xfosf k|b]z g+= $ / % /flvPsf 5g\ .Æ
|
Note: This
alteration proposal has been dropped in the second attempt of the second
amendment in the constitution.
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Article
11: To be Citizens of Nepal
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(6) A foreign woman who has a matrimonial relationship with a
citizen of Nepal may, if she so wishes, acquire naturalized citizenship of
Nepal as provided for in the Federal law.
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''6. A
foreign woman who has a matrimonial relationship with a citizen of Nepal may,
if she so wishes, acquire naturalized citizenship of Nepal after initiating abandonment
of citizenship of her country, as provided for in the Federal law.''
|
Note: This
proposal has been still retained in the second attempt as well, as it was
proposed in the first attempt of the second amendment:
''6.
A foreign woman who has a matrimonial relationship with a citizen of Nepal
may, if she so wishes, acquire naturalized citizenship of Nepal after
initiating abandonment of citizenship of her country, as provided for in the
Federal law.''
Æ-^_ g]kfnL gful/s;FUf j}jflxs ;DaGw sfod u/]sL ljb]zL dlxnfn]
rfx]df cfkm\gf] b]zsf] gful/stf TofUg] sf/jfxL rnfP kl5 ;+3Lo sfg"g
adf]lhd g]kfnsf] j}jflxs c+uLs[t gful/stf lng ;Sg]5 . Æ
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Article
86: Composition of Naitonal Assembly and Terms of office of its members
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(2) The National
Assembly shall consist of 59 members as follows:-
(a) Fifty six (56) elected members
consisting of at least three women, one Dalit, and one from persons with
disability or minorities, ensuring eight members from each state, elected by
an electoral college composed of members of State Assembly, chairpersons and
vice-chairpersons of the Village Bodies, and Mayors and Deputy Mayors of the
Municipalities, with different weightage of vote by members of the State
Assembly, chairpersons and vice chairpersons of the Village Bodies and Mayors
and Deputy Mayors of the Municipalities, as provided for in the Federal law;
(b) Three members, consisting of at
least one woman, nominated by the President on recommendation of the
Government of Nepal.
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(2) The National Assembly
shall consist of 59 members as follows:-
(a) Altogether 56 members that comprises
twenty one (21) members at the rate of 3 members per state representing at
least one woman, one Dalit, and one from persons with disability or
minorities, elected by an electoral
college composed of members of State Assembly, chairpersons and
vice-chairpersons of the Village Bodies, and Mayors and Deputy Mayors of the
Municipalities, with different weightage of
vote by members of the State Assembly, chairpersons and vice
chairpersons of the Village Bodies and Mayors and Deputy Mayors of the
Municipalities, and Thirty Five (35) members elected on the proportional
basis of population of each state. However, of these 35 elected, at least 14
women members shall be represented as per the population ratio of the
concerned state.
Note:(3x7=21) and + 35 from all 7 provinces on the proportional
basis of population= 56
(b) Three members,
consisting of at least one woman, nominated by the President on
recommendation of the Government of Nepal.
|
Note: The
second attempt of the second amendment proposes that the electoral college
shall have members of the state assemblies only.
:
'' (a) Altogether
56 members that comprises twenty one (21) members at the rate of 3 members
per state representing at least one woman, one Dalit, and one from persons
with disability or minorities, elected
by an electoral college composed of members of State Assembly, and Thirty
Five (35) members elected on the proportional basis of population of each
state. However, of these 35 elected, at least 14 women members shall be
represented as per the population ratio of the concerned state.
æ-@_ -s_ k|b]z ;efsf ;b:o /x]sf] lgjf{rs d08nåf/f
k|To]s k|b]zaf6 sDtLdf Ps hgf dlxnf, Ps hgf blnt / Ps hgf ckfËtf ePsf JolQm
jf cNk;+Vos;lxt tLt hgfsf b/n] PSsfO; -@!_ hgf / k|To]s k|b]zsf] hg;+Vofsf]
cg'kftdf ;+3Lo sfg"g adf]lhd lgjf{lrt x'g] k}+tL; hgf u/L 5kGg hgf . t/
k|b]zaf6 k}tL; hgf ;b:o lgjf{rg ubf{ ;DalGwt k|b]zsf] hg;+Vofsf] c'gkftdf
sDtLdf rf}w hgf dlxnf ;d]tsf] k|ltlglwTj x'g] u/L lgjf{lrt ul/g]5 .Æ
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Article
274: Amendment to Constitution
|
''(4) If a Bill introduced pursuant to clause (2) is related
with the alteration in the borders of any State or matters set forth in
Schedule-6, the Speaker or the Chairperson of the concerned House must send
that Bill to the State Assembly for its consent, withing thirty days after
its introduction in the Federal Parliament.
|
Note: First Attempt of the second amendment was focused on amending
Schedule 4 of the constitution by swapping districts of the state no. 4 and
5, as shown in the third bullet above.
|
Note: This
is one of the major change in this proposal, aiming to make the alterations
of provincial boundaries easier:
''
(4) If a Bill introduced pursuant to clause (2) is related with the following
matters, the Speaker or the Chairperson of the concerned House must send that
Bill to the State Assembly for its consent, within thirty days after its
introduction in the Federal Parliament:
(a)
If related to
alteration in the borders of the State, the Bill must be sent to State
Assemblies of all the concerned States.
(b)
If related to the amendment on matters of
Schedule-6 (i.e. list of competencies), the Bill must be sent to all the
State Assemblies.
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Article
287: Language Commission
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(6) The functions, duties and powers of the Language Commission
shall be as follows:
(a) to determine the criteria to be fulfilled for the
recognition of the official language and make recommendations on the
languages to the Government of Nepal.
(b) to make recommendations to the Government of Nepal, on the
measures to be adopted for the protection, promotion and development of
languages,
(c) …
|
(a) to determine the criteria to be fulfilled for the
recognition of the official language and make recommendations on the
languages to the Government of Nepal.
|
Note: This provision is also
one of the major proposals on language issue:
(6) The functions, duties and powers of the Language Commission
shall be as follows:
(a) to determine the criteria to be fulfilled for the
recognition of the official language and make recommendations on the
languages to the Government of Nepal.
''(a.1)
Pursuant to clause 6, a list of all mother tongues spoken in Nepal shall be
prepared and recommended to Government of Nepal.''
-s !_ wf/f ^ adf]lhd g]kfndf af]lng] ;a} dft[ efiffx?sf]
;"rL tof/ u/L g]kfn ;/sf/ ;dIf l;kmfl/; ug]{ .
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Article
added
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This provision did not exist.
|
This proposal was not in the first attempt of the second
amendment.
|
Note: This
provision is also one of the new and major proposals on Federal Commission
for deciding on provincial boundaries and numbers:
Added: "287
(a) Formation of Federal Commission: (1) The Government of Nepal may form
a Federal Commission for the purpose of recommending about the matters
related to alterations in numbers and boundaries of the States.
(2) The
mandate and procedure of the federal commission to be formed as per clause
(1) shall be as determined by the Government of Nepal during its formation.
@*& s ylkPsf] M
Æ;+3Lo cfof]usf] u7gM (!) k|b]zsf] ;+Vof tyf ;Ldf+sg x]/km]/ ;DaGwL ljifodf
l;kmfl/; ug{ g]kfn ;/sf/n] Ps ;+3Lo cfof]u u7g ug{ ;Sg]5 .Æ
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Article
295: Constitution of Federal Commission
|
(1) The
Government of Nepal may constitute a Federal Commission from making
suggestions on matters relating to the boundaries of States.
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This proposal was not in the first attempt of the second
amendment.
|
''295: Constitution of a Commission: (Note: The
word "federal" is removed from the title.)
(1)
Entire Clause - removed
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Article 296: Costituent Assembly to be converted into
Legislature Paliament:
|
(4) The legislative power of the State Assembly with respect of
matters set forth in Schedule-6 shall, upon the commencement of this
constitution, be vested in the Legislature-Parliament set forth in clause (1)
until the State Assembly is formed. Any law so made shall be inoperative in
relation to that State after one year of the date of formation of the State
Assembly set forth in this Constitution.
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This proposal was not in the first attempt of the second
amendment.
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Note: This
replacement clause is a major provision to manage the transition:
Replaced
with: "(4) Powers of the State Assembly may be vested in the
Legislature-Parliament as per clause (1) until the formation of State
Assemblies as per this constitution".
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k|b]z ;ef u7g geP;Ddsf] nflu k|b]z ;efsf] clwsf/ pkwf/f -!_ adf]lhdsf]
Joj:yflksf ;+;bn] k|of]u ug{ ;Sg]5 . Æ
Added: "4(a)
Laws formulated by exercising the power as per clause 4 shall automatically
become void one year after the formation of the State Assembly for the
concerned State.''
Æ$ -s_ pkwf/f -$_
adf]lhdsf] clwsf/ k|of]u u/L ag]sf] sfg"g k|b]z ;ef u7g ePsf] ldltn] Ps
jif{ kl5 To:tf] k|b]zsf] xsdf :jtM lgis[o x'g]5 .Æ
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Updated last on 26 May 2017
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