THT 10 YEARS AGO: CA court bill passes House test

Kathmandu, August 17, 2007

With the Parliament giving a safe passage to the Constituent Assembly Court Bill 2007 today, all legal hurdles have been cleared for the Constituent Assembly elections to be held on November 22. This will now ensure formation of a court to look into and settle any dispute related to constituent assembly polls. The Maoists, however, expressed “dissatisfaction” over the report of bill that was finalised by the Law, Justice and Legislature-Parliament Committee this morning. “We have reservation on the report of the committee,” said lawmaker Amrita Thapa of the CPN-Maoist. The committee report states that the judges in the CA court would be nominated from amongst the sitting justices of the Supreme Court. The Maoist lawmakers, however, insisted that judges, who are not sitting justices but are “qualified and capable”, can also be appointed to the CA Court. Earlier, the Maoist lawmakers wrote a “note of dissent” after the committee finalised the bill before tabling it before the Parliament. The CA court, having a chairman and two member judges, will have the authority to decide all cases related to the constituent assembly polls within 90 days. The Constituent Assembly Court will be the final authority to settle any case related with the CA elections and its jurisdiction cannot be exercised by any other court of law. The court can impose one-year jail term or a fine of Rs 10,000 or both for contempt of court.

Finance Minister denounces UNMIN for laxity

Pokhara, August 17, 2007

Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat today said the United Nations Mission in Nepal was not tackling the issue of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army guerrillas’ verification and supervising their camps properly. Speaking in a programme organised by the Kaski chapter of Press Union Nepal, Dr Mahat said because of laxity on part of the UN half of the PLA fighters were roving outside the camps in the guise of Young Communist League cadres. He added that the Maoist fighters should remain in camps and not resort to agitation. Stating that the out-of-camp excursions of the Maoist fighters was against the letter and spirit of the peace treaty between the government and the Maoists, Dr Mahat said, “The peace treaty must be respected by all concerned. The Nepali Congress is committed to respecting it.” The Finance Minister said the Maoists have not yet given an account of the Rs 26 crore that they received from the government for their camps’ infrastructure and management. “The Maoists should abstain from hindering progress towards the holding of the constituent assembly polls,” he added.