Implementation of Federalism in Nepal: The Devil is in the Detail
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Dec 20, 2022
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Abstract
After a long period of instability, Nepal adopted a new Constitution in 2015, creating a multiparty federal republic. Previously Nepal had been a unitary state, albeit with a long period of political instability and insurgencies. In 2017 the two competing communist parties merged to form the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which operated with a 2/3rd majority in the House of Representatives. The implementation of federalism has been slow and uneven. Despite assurances to the contrary, the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been lacking, with Constitutional obligations ignored. The machinations of the then Prime Minister have exacerbated this, apparently supported by the President to overcome constitutional norms to keep the Prime Minister in power. The paper analyses the devolution of powers to the provincial and local levels described in the constitution. There have been successes and failures. There appeared to be a concerted effort from the federal parliament and some in the bureaucracy to continue to centralize power. This early inaction has hindered its response to the pandemic. Of even more concern is the then prime minister's role as he sought to maintain his hold on power by ignoring the provisions of the Constitution.
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Smith, R. B., & Smith, N. N. (2022). Implementation of Federalism in Nepal: The Devil is in the Detail. Lex Scientia Law Review, 6(2), 223-264. https://doi.org/10.15294/lesrev.v6i1.54437
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The Constitution of India (as on 9 November 2015).
Constitution of Nepal.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2020. Transparency International. January 2021. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020/index/nzl
"Court Orders President to Appoint Congress Leader Deuba Prime Minister by 5pm Tuesday." Kathmandu Post. June 12, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/national/2021/07/12/supreme-court-orders-president-to-appoint-nepali-congress-president-sher-bahadur-deuba-prime-minister-by-5pm-tuesday.
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Employee Adjustment Act.
Federal Parliament of Nepal: Brief Introduction. Federal Parliament Secretariat, October 2020.
Federation, Province and Local Level (coordination and inter-relations) Act, 2077 (2020) (tr Forum of Federations). 28 July 2020.
Ghimire, Binod. "Ministry Finds 174 Laws Clashing with Statute." Kathmandu Post, December 5, 2018. https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/12/05/ministry-finds-174-laws-clashing-with-statute.
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Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangement Act, 2074 (2017).
Jha, Prashant. Battles of the New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal. (New Delphi: Aleph Book Company, 2014).
Khadka, Shradha. "Plights of Nepali informal workers worsened by the pandemic." myRepublica, April, 8, 2021. https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/plights-of-nepali-informal-workers-worsened-by-the-pandemic/.
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https://www.ifpri.org/publication/nepals-2072-federal-constitution-implications-governance-agricultural-sector.
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Local Government Operation Act.
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Manandhar, Narayan. "Back in court." Kathmandu Post. February 23, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2021/05/31/back-in-court.
"NAC Replaces Thai Airways as the Carrier of Nepal’s Outbound Letters and Parcels." Onlinekhabar, June, 29, 2021. https://english.onlinekhabar.com/nac-replaces-thai-airways-as-the-carrier-of-nepals-outbound-letters-and-parcels.html.
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Paudel, Balananda, and Krishna Sapkota. Local Levels in Federalism: Constitutional Provisions and the State of Implementation. (Kathmandu: Swatantra Nagarik Sanjal, 2018).
Pellini, Arnaldo, Neeta Thapa, Sarah Boddington and Shailendra Sigdel. Supporting Strong, Effective and Inclusive Sub-national Governments in Nepal: A Review of the DFAT/TAF Strategic Partnership on Sub-national Governance Program. 2019. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/mid-term-review-dfat-taf-strategic-partnership-on-sub-national-governance-program.pdf.
"PM Must Correct Claims that Provincial Govts are Under Federal: CM Gurung." Setopi, May 21, 2019. https://en.setopati.com/political/147038.
Pradhan, Krishna. "Local Government: Constitutional Vision and Present Practice." Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies 2 No. 2 (2019):109. doi: https://doi.org/10.3126/rnjds.v2i2.29284.
Pradhan, Krishna. "Law-making: Role of Parliamentary Committees." The Himalayan, May 24, 2020. https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/law-making-role-of-parliamentary-committees.
Pradhan, Tika. The (NCP) Party’s Over." Kathmandu Post, March 8, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2021/03/08/the-ncp-party-s-over.
Pradhan, Tika and Binod Ghimire. 2020. "President Dissolves House and Calls Polls for April 30 and May 10." Kathmandu Post, December 21. https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2020/12/21/president-dissolves-house-calls-polls-for-april-30-may-10.
"Protests erupt across the country against parliament dissolution." myRepublica, December 20, 2020. https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/protests-erupt-across-the-country-against-parliament-dissolution/.
Paudel, Balananda and Krishna. Local Levels in Federalism: Constitutional Provisions and the State of Implementation. (Kathmandu: Swatantra Nagarik Sanjal, 2018).
Samiti, Rastriya. 2019. "Government Groups Local Federal Units into Four Categories." Kathmandu Post, January 5. https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/01/05/government-groups-local-federal-units-into-four-categories.
Stepan, Alfred. "Federalism and Democracy: Beyond the U.S. Model." Journal of Democracy 10, No. 4 (1999): 9-34.
Wagle, Achyut. "Central Planning Versus Federalism." Kathmandu Post. August 3, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2021/08/02/central-planning-versus-federalism.
“What is Federalism?” Media Release, IDEA International, August 27, 2020. https://www.idea.int/news-media/media/what-federalism.
Whelpton, John. A History of Nepal. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020).