|
Home »
»
»
Human Rights under the Constitutions of NepalThe 1948 Constitution had one article on human rights, and all the rights were only as provided for by law (Article 4). The 1951 (Interim) Constitution had what might look like quite a good set of human rights but they were all in the chapter on Directive Principles which stated very clearly: " The provisions of this part shall not be enforceable by any Court in Nepal". The 1959 Constitution had something more like a modern Bill of Rights (Part III). However, it was possible too override any of these by a law that stated this was for the public good (which covered a very wide range of purposes, and seems to have left it to the law makers to decide whether there was indeed a public good to be served). The 1962 (Panchayat) Constitution had a rather short chapter (3) subject to similar possibility of limitation by statute to the rights under the 1959 Constitution. The 1990 Constitution had quite a good set of provisions about human rights. It also had principles guiding the government that were not enforceable in the courts. These are known as Directive Principles of State Policy. However, there has been criticism that the 1990 Constitution could have been stronger in its protection of rights especially of minority groups. The Interim Constitution therefore includes a few provisions that were not in the 1990 Constitution, and it also has some rights that were previously Directive Principles. For a brief explanation of Directive Principles click here You can read the Human Rights provisions of the Interim Constitution, and also the Directive Principles. There is also a comment on these provisions, including on the provisions about the Human Rights Commission. | |||||||||||||||||||
^ Home 
|
Copyright © 2008 | All Rights Reserved | Constitution Advisory Support Unit, UNDP |
