Muluki Ain to become history soon

Muluki Ain to become history soon
TKP, 1-Apr-2010
By KAMAL RAJ SIGDEL

The government has prepared a complete and comprehensive body of criminal and civil laws to replace the entire Muluki Ain, the one-and-a-half-century old legal code enforced by first Rana oligarch Jung Bahadur Rana during his reign in 1854.

The new body of laws, organised into two codes, namely Criminal Code and a Civil Code, will modernise Nepal’s justice system, claim officials involved in preparing the drafts. For these laws to come into effect, the Cabinet and the Parliament will have to endorse them.

The Ministry of Law and Justice (MoLJ) will submit the final drafts of the codes to the Cabinet in the next few days, said MoLJ Secretary Madhav Poudel.

For the last two years, two expert committees under the leadership of Justice Khil Raj Regmi and Kalyan Shrestha were engaged in codifying the laws.

The new legal codes, said Poudel, are urgent for the country, given the changes following the Rana rule such as the country’s increased dealings with the international community, emergence of new types of crimes, and new perspectives on crime and punishment. “The Muliki Ain—despite over a dozen amendments—has several weaknesses.”

Structured in 6 Parts, 51 Chapters and 728 Sections, the Civil Code is the longest ever law to be enacted in the country, according to Poudel. The code includes chapters on “law of persons”, “family law”, “property law”, “law of obligation”, and “private international law”. The law, however, does not recognise gay marriage.

For the first time, the chapter on property law has defined servitude, trust (Guthi), usufruct to effectively resolve all legal disputes relating to land and property issues.

Considering Nepal’s obligation to the Hague Convention on inter-country adoption, the new civil code has provisioned separate section on the same. Nepal became signatory to the convention in April 2009. The new codes are prepared by codifying the SC precedents, and inheriting the best of Muluki Ain.

The move has evinced mixed reaction from legal experts. While former Nepal Bar Association Chairman Bishwo Kant Mainali said a country should shed off old systems to mark its entry into a new era, advocate Bhimarjun Acharya said replacing the legal document of historic significance would cost dear.