Prologue (State Courts Abolition Act 2017)

State Courts Abolition Act 2017 B.S. was enacted in Jestha 2017 B.S. to remove the state courts of Nepal and establish the District Court as the Court of First Instance Hearing. The Act consists of Eight Sections.

According to the Preamble of the Act, it was enacted to abolish state courts to reform the existing administration of Justice of Nepal while maintaining peace, order, and convenience for the Citizens of Nepal. It was enacted throughout Nepal and applied from the date of its enactment.

Attributes and Features

Dissolution of State Court

Section 2 of the State Courts Abolition Act 2017 has prepared for the Dissolution of all State Courts existing within Nepal.

The Section further provisions that the documents of all the case files of the State Courts must be transferred to the District Court in specification by the Government of Nepal.

Moreover, The District Court has been granted the Jurisdiction to dispose of such cases, retain its records, and recover fines, fees, or penalties according to the Prevailing Nepalese Law of the Period.

Authority to District Court

The Act further provisions that the cases that were tried by the State Courts were to be dealt with by the District Court. All the cases and lawsuits must be tried and disposed of by the District Court.

Documents

The State court, under this act, is required to hand over all the documents to the District Court within the time frame specified by the Government of Nepal.

However, if the King of Principality under the dominion of Nepal failed to hand over the documents within the prescribed time frame, it brought the withholding of the income of any King of Principality until the handing over of Files.

State Courts Abolition Ordinance 2016

Section 8 of the State Courts Abolition Act repealed the State Courts Abolition Ordinance 2016. The Act has further elaborated has established some of the consequences and exceptions to the ineffectiveness of the Ordinance after this Act.

It has provisioned that any Legal Proceeding or Investigation that has been associated with the State Court Abolition Act needs to be continued and enforced even after it has been repealed.

Moreover, the Act won’t repeal the rights, privileges, and obligations established by the Ordinance or forfeit or affect the Penalties and Offenses prescribed by the Original Ordinance.

Epilogue

State Courts Abolition Act which was enacted in Jestha 2017 B.S. was a legal reform that eliminated state Courts under Principalities and Kings and replaced them with the District Court.

It also established that the continuous proceedings mustn’t be ruptured by the Act with the continuation of the dissolved State Courts in the District Court.

It has also provisioned for the continuation of Legal Proceedings as stated in the State Courts Abolition Ordinance 2016.

Cite

Pokhrel, Aupson. “State Courts Abolition Act 2017 – the #1 Encyclopedia of Nepali History.” Encyclopedia of Nepali History, 18 Oct. 2023, itihasaa.com/acts/state-courts-abolition-act-2017.