Senior-most Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla has assumed the role of acting Chief Justice from today. She automatically took over the position after Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut retired on Tuesday upon reaching the constitutional age limit of 65.
There is a constitutional provision that the senior-most justice of the Supreme Court assumes the responsibility of acting Chief Justice when the post becomes vacant. This provision is outlined in Article 129(9) of the Constitution of Nepal. Sapana Pradhan Malla was appointed as a Supreme Court justice on august 1, 2016.
A former member of the first Constituent Assembly and a senior advocate, Malla has established precedents in gender justice, gender-based and domestic violence, and constitutional issues during her nearly decade-long tenure at the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Appointment Process and Delay
The Judicial Council had last month sent a roster of six eligible Supreme Court justices to the Constitutional Council for the post of Chief Justice. The list includes senior-most Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, along with Justices Kumar Regmi, Hari Phuyal, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Nahakul Subedi, and Til Prasad Shrestha.
According to the Constitution, a person must have at least three years of experience as a Supreme Court justice and must not have crossed the age of 65 to be eligible for Chief Justice. There is also a provision that the Constitutional Council must recommend a new Chief Justice at least one month before the position becomes vacant.
However, the council has not been able to make a recommendation due to vacant positions of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Leader of the Opposition. The House of Representatives had been dissolved due to the Gen Z movement, preventing the Constitutional Council from becoming complete.
A new House of Representatives was elected on Falgun 21, forming a new parliament. The federal parliament session is scheduled to be convened on the 19th. Only after the House elects the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Leader of the Opposition will the Constitutional Council be fully formed.
Once the council is complete, the process to appoint a new Chief Justice will move forward. A joint parliamentary hearing committee comprising members of both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly must be formed, and the proposed candidate must be approved before final appointment by the President.
