Kathmandu September 18

With President Bidhya Devi Bhandari authenticating 16 bills, acts related to fundamental rights of the constitution will be enacted by tomorrow within the stipulated deadline.

The constitution had stipulated that laws related to fundamental right should be enacted within three years of its proclamation in 2015.

According to Chhabindra Parajuli, spokesperson at the Office of the President, the President authenticated the bills on the basis of article 113 (2) of the constitution.

People can now exercise the included in the constitution. But some of the acts need regulations and procedures for implementation. “The president has authenticated all laws today,” Bhesh Raj Adhikari, a personal secretary of the president told The Himalayan Times.

After the federal Parliament passed the bills on Sunday, four bills that had originated in the Upper House were signed by Chairman of the Upper House Ganesh Timilsena and 12 bills that originated in the Lower House were signed by Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara. They were sent to the Office of the President yesterday. The Parliament had passed all those the bills related to fundamental rights on Sunday without adequately debating them.

Speaker Mahara and Chairperson Timilsena today held a joint press meet at Singha Durbar and said that it was possible due to the joint effort of political parties, including ruling and opposition, lawmakers and Parliament Secretariat employees.

Timilsena said that the Parliament has asked for bills related to contradictory laws on time. Those contradictory laws will have to be adjusted by March 2019. “We will pass those bills with enough discussion” he said.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Co-chair of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the main opposition Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba had reached agreement to fast-track the passage of bills related to fundamental rights so that the constitutional deadline was not breached. The federal parliament had then endorsed bills related fundamental rights through the fast-track process to meet the constitutional deadline.

Guaranteed by law

• Right to social security
• Right to land
• Right to free and compulsory education
• Right to employment
• Right to privacy
• Right to food
• Right to shelter
• Right to health
• Right to consumer protection
• Right against discrimination and untouchability
• Right to safe maternity and fertility
• Right of people with disabilities
• Right to environment protection
• Right to protection of crime victims’
• Right of children
• Right to public security