Kathmandu, August 31, 2006

The legal department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) decided 81 cases out of 162 heard in a month.

The metropolis had decided only 66 cases throughout last year. “This is the first time that the KMC has decided such a large number of cases in a month,” said Basanta Acharya, chief of the legal department.

Acharya said hearing of some 162 cases have already been completed after the arrival of new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dinesh Thapaliya. “If the department acts in this speed, I am sure that no case will take more than three months to be decided,” he said.

Thapaliya said in the last one month KMC decided 81 cases out of 162 heard. “We have tried to make people feel that they get justice quickly and easily, which was not possible in the past,” he said.

Five hundred thirty-eight cases were pending last year while 88 new cases have been filed till date. “There are a few cases that have been pending for a decade,” he said. Only 66 cases were decided last year due to various reasons.

He said frequent changes of CEOs, delay in delegation of mayor’s authority to them and municipality election had delayed justice delivery.

The elected mayor decided only seven cases during his two-month tenure.

Draft of Child Act 2063 presented

The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and Central Child Welfare Board today presented the proposed draft of ‘Child Act 2063’.

Presenting the draft at a consultative meeting, Deepak Raj Sapkota, executive director of the CCWB said, “The draft of the amended Child Act 2048, which contains nine chapters and 14 clauses, has broadened the concept of protection rights of children.”

“The protection rights of children will prevent recruitment of children in security forces for various purposes,” said Sapkota.

The draft of the Child Act 2063 has classified shelter homes into different categories like shelter homes for orphans and abandoned children, rehabilitation centres for children with disabilities and living with HIV/AIDS, transitional centres for children rescued from sexual and other kinds of exploitations and natural disasters, rehabilitation centres for drug users and residential homes.

The draft has provided special protection rights to children and their families, who come into contact with law enforcing agencies, before the juvenile courts give final verdicts and the investigation officers proceed the case related to children.

Such special protection rights include temporary shelter for victim children and their families.

In the draft, we have progressed from the concept of welfare to rights with a view to making the Act rights based rather than welfare based, Sapkota said.

“The Central Child Welfare Board would be transformed into the Central Child Rights Board.”