If everything goes as planned, the existing 16 Appellate Courts will be transformed into seven High Courts within a month in a crucial step towards implementation of the constitution promulgated a year ago.

The Legislation Committee of Parliament is preparing to finalise the Judicial Administration Bill, which is crucial for restructuring the judiciary, by September 2 and table it in Parliament by the 5th of the month.

Parliament on August 14 had forwarded the bill to the committee to accommodate a large number of amendments as they were hard to be sorted in the full House. Lawmakers have registered 49 amendments to the legislation. The Constitution of Nepal makes it mandatory for high courts to be set up within a year of its promulgation.

Article 300 (3) of the statute provisions transformation of the appeal courts to a High Court before the third week of September. The constitution was promulgated on September 20 last year. If the High Courts are not formed within a month, the Appellate Courts will be dissolved as per the constitution.

The Legislation Committee has formed a subcommittee led by UML lawmaker Rewati Raman Bhandari, giving it two weeks to resolve the dispute. “We are committed to finalising the bill by September 2, which will be tabled in Parliament two days later,” said Bhandari.

Former minister for law and justice Agni Kharel had tabled the bill in the House for discussion which was later sent to the parliamentary committee. Instead of 160 judges proposed in the bill, lawmakers have registered amendments demanding their number reduced to 77. They have also sought a provision to authorise Parliament to discuss the malpractices that the judges indulge in.

Major problems in restructuring are deciding the number of judges and determining the Central Office of the High Courts in each of seven provinces. Currently over 120 judges are working in Appellate Courts.

According to CPN (Maoist Centre) lawmaker Ram Narayan Bidari, one Appellate Court from each province will be named as the central office while others will be named as extended benches of the High Court. The central office must be located in the headquarters of the respective province. However, as the parties are still divided over the boundary of the provinces, finding a solution on the head office will be a daunting task.

Lawmakers from the committee said the Biratnagar-based Appellate Court will most likely be the main office of the High Court in Province 1, Janakpur for Province 2, Patan for Province 3 and Pokhara for Province 4. The Tulsipur-based Appellate Court could be main office for High Court in Province 5, Surkhet for Province 6 and Mahendranagar for Province 7.