Kathmandu, July 16

The Supreme Court has made public the fourth five-year strategic plan of the judiciary, which will come into effect from tomorrow. The theme of the plan is ‘Independence of Judiciary: Judicial Good Governance, Our Commitment’.

According to the apex court, strategic plan aims to improve the performance of the judiciary and is a part of its systematic reform. Chief Registrar of the SC Nrip Dhoj Niraula said it would focus on quality judicial performance, people’s easy access to justice, judicial good governance and management and building people’s trust.

“Its vision is to ensure justice for everyone, while its mission is to carry out fair and impartial judicial performance as per the constitution and established principles,”said Niraula.

Practice of systematic reform in judiciary started since 2004. Implementation of the fourth five-year strategic plan would be more challenging than its first, second and third plans, according to a source at the SC.

The latest strategic plan would strengthen judiciary’s independence, impartiality, efficiency, accountability, transparency and quality, in accordance with the constitution, generally accepted principles of law and commitments made by Nepal in the international arena.

Key features of this strategic plan include management of different cases at district courts and high courts, reduction of pending cases in the SC, promptness in judicial proceedings and performance, special campaign for judgement execution, promotion of alternative measures to dispute settlement, use of automated information technology in case management, development of victim-friendly justice system, priority for access to justice program, effectiveness of legal aid, judicial good governance, improvement in judicial culture, emphasis on overall management of courts, clients’ satisfaction measurement system, coordination and collaboration with stakeholders, and development of judicial study and research.

The strategic plan has five goals and 23 strategic objectives. Chief Registrar Niraula said cooperation on part of the stakeholder agencies would count a lot for the attainment of the goals set by the strategic plan for overall reform of the judiciary.

“This plan aims to pursue reforms in the changed context. I hope its effective implementation will further strengthen people’s trust in judiciary,” he said.