Amid the ongoing delay in nominating a new chief justice, the Supreme Court Bar Association has reminded the authority concerned to be mindful of the constitutional provisions while nominating the chief of the judiciary.

The prime minister-led Constitutional Council is the authority responsible for nominating the candidate for chief justice. The constitution says the successor of the sitting chief justice should be nominated a month prior to his retirement. Although Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki is retiring on August 5 the council’s meeting is yet to be called.

“It is the council’s constitutional responsibility to nominate a new chief justice candidate a month before the position becomes vacant,” reads a statement issued by Shyam Kumar Khatri, secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association. “We strongly demand that the successor to the sitting chief justice be recommended without further delay.” Karki reaches the mandatory retirement age of 65 on August 5. If the council had abided by Article 284 of the constitution, it should have nominated his successor by July 5.

But Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has not scheduled the council meeting yet. As he is mourning the demise of his wife Sita, who passed away on Wednesday, it is unlikely that the meeting will be called anytime soon.

The council consists of the Speaker and deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives; the chief justice; the chairperson of the National Assembly; and the leader of the main opposition. The minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs replaces the chief justice when the council meets to nominate a chief justice candidate.

If the council doesn’t breach the basis of seniority, it will recommend Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha as the next chief justice. He, however, needs to go through a parliamentary hearing before the President appoints him the head of judiciary.

The parliamentary hearing—which involves soliciting complaints from the public against the nominee, discussing them and quizzing the chief justice candidate—takes at least a few weeks. Shrestha will work as acting chief justice until his appointment as chief justice. Incumbent Chief Justice Karki also led the judiciary as its acting chief for months as the Dahal-led council delayed his recommendation.