Nepal should address transitional justice issues on its own: Sapana Pradhan Malla

Jul 30, 2016- Supreme Court justice nominee Sapana Pradhan Malla has said that Nepal should find a lasting solution to the pending issues of transitional justice by setting up legal and institutional systems to give a closure to the conflict-era cases.

Responding to the queries of members of the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, Malla, who is also an elected member of the Convention Against Torture, argued that it was imperative for the country to address the issue as it is the only way to avoid possible application of international jurisdiction on conflict-era cases.

Since the transitional justice bodies are in place, there should not be any problem in redressing the wounds of the conflict victims,” said Malla. “Transitional justice is also about rebuilding social fabric through legal and non-legal recourse.”

Arguing that transitional justice is a component of the peace process, she said that the government and the political parties should act responsibly to deliver justice to the conflict victims.

“At the same time, Nepal should also ensure non-repetition of rights violation in the future in addressing the conflict-era cases,” she said.

The government formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons to look into conflict-era cases in February last year. The commissions have already collected over 55,000 complaints related to conflict-era cases. Currently, they have been screening the complaints while also registering cases from their central offices in Kathmandu.

Malla, who described herself as a “cause lawyer” due to her dedication to advocacy for social justice, emphasised the need for a vision to make justice accessible and affordable to all. Committee members appreciated her passion for social cause as well as her credentials. They openly admired her accomplishments as a lawyer and educator, who completed secondary school in her home district Nawalparasi and made it to Harvard Law School as a guest lecturer. She has won cases against discriminatory laws against women.

Almost all the committee members who spoke commended her past works instead of asking questions. One of the members, Ayandra Bantawa, even congratulated her on her new responsibility.

Nepali Congress leader Chitra Lekha Yadav wanted Malla to be a “cause judge” as well, while another member Sarita Kumari Pariyar expressed hope that she would address the way rape victims are grilled in the court.

NC leader Prakash Sharan Mahat and a few other members asked Malla if she would leave behind her past, who remained a Constituent Assembly member. “I believe in transformative responsibility,” she said. “I was nominated a CA member in my capacity as an expert, not as a party member.” No lawmaker present in the committee questioned her about her political affiliation. They instead argued that she was a deserving candidate for the role.

“We have seen you speak against party decisions during the constitution writing process,” said NC leader Bal Krishna Khand. “But we raised the issue of your political background to debate the kind of system we want, which you should not mind at all.” The committee also heard SC Justice nominees Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, Anil Kumar Sinha and Prakashman Singh Raut. The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday.

Low implementation of court orders
DEWAN RAI

The government has been ignoring more than 55 percent of the rulings on conflict-era cases issued by the Supreme Court and Appellate Courts.

A study conducted by the National Judicial Academy shows that the government has implemented only half of the court verdicts on cases related to war crimes, that too orders to provide compensation for the victims.

The report on the Implementation Status of the Court Decisions on Transitional Justice, released on Thursday, shows that only 21 percent cases were fully implemented while 24 percent cases related to insurgency were partially implemented.

Of the 29 sampled verdicts, 19 decisions of the SC and eight rulings of the Appellate Court were

issued on conflict-era incidents since the insurgency period. Of them, six verdicts were implemented, seven partially enforced while 16 orders were never implemented.

According to the report, victims, during focus group discussions, cited political influence as the major reason for low implementation rate of the verdicts, while lack of legal infrastructure and institutional apathy are also blamed.

Nepal has not criminalised the acts of torture and disappearance. After the arrest of Nepal Army Col Kumar Lama in the United Kingdom under universal jurisdiction, Nepal prepared a bill two years ago to criminalise torture. However, it was never tabled in Parliament.

As the government delayed the drafting of a bill to criminalise disappearance, the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons presented it to the government last year. The government has not tabled both the bills for discussion.