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Extracts from the Children's Act


AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR SAFEGUARDING THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN

Date of the Royal Seal and Publication in the Nepal Gazette
2049/2/7 (May 20, 1992)

Preamble: Whereas, for the physical, mental and intellectual development of the children it is expedient to make timely legal provisions in order to protect the rights and interests of the children.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the twenty first of the reign of His Majesty's King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

CHAPTER - 2
RIGHTS AND INTERESTS OF CHILDREN

3. Right to a name and determination of birth date of the Child :

(1) From birth, every child shall be granted a name according to the religion, culture and tradition by his father, if the father is not available by his mother and if the mother is also not available by any other member of his family. In cases where the father, mother or any other member of his family is not alive or their whereabouts are not known, the person or organisation bringing tip the Child shall give a name to such Child.

(2) In cases where the date of birth of any child is not traced, the person or organisation bringing up the Child shall, in consultation with a registered medical practitioner, determine the birth date of the Child. Unless otherwise proved1 the date so determined shall be considered to be the date of birth of the Child.

4.Right to maintenance and upbringing, education and health care :

(1) Parents shall he under an obligation to make arrangements so as to bring up the Child and to provide education, health care, sports and recreation facilities to the Child according to the economic status of their family.

(2) The parents or guardian of the Child shall cause to be given the vaccination necessary to save the Child from diseases. The local authorities and related agencies of His Majesty's Government shall render assistance in this matter.

(3) His Majesty's Government shall render assistance in making arrangements for the proper health care to the pregnant mothers and the mothers who have recently given birth to a Child.

(4) His Majesty's Government shall render assistance in making arrangement for providing advice education and services relating to family planning and preventive health care to the parents.

5. Discrimination not to be made between a son or daughter and between sons and daughters No discrimination shall be made between a son and daughter and between sons and daughters themselves in matters relating to their upbringing, education and health care.

6. Discrimination not to be made between children born out of wedlock or in lawful wedlock or between the adopted or the natural Child :

(1) No discrimination shall be made between children born out of wedlock or in lawful wedlock in matters of their upbringing, education or health care.

(2) No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the natural or the adopted son or daughter.

7. Prohibition on torture or cruel treatment:

No Child shall be subjected to torture or cruel treatment.

Provided that, the act of scolding and minor beating to the Child by his father, mother, member of the family, Guardian or teacher for the interests of the Child himself shall not be deemed to violate the provisions of this Section.

8. Facilities to maintain contact:

(1) In circumstances where the parents of the Child are living separately due to divorce or any other reason, the Child living with the father shall be given an opportunity to maintain personal relation and direct contact with the mother and vice-versa on a regular basis or be allowed to live together with the other parent for sometimes.

Provided that, the court may prohibit to grant the facility of maintaining direct contact or living together if there is a reasonable ground to believe that such direct contact and personal relation or living with the other parent may be contrary to the Child's interest.

(2) If the parents do not agree on the question of the time of maintaining direct contact or the duration of living with the father or mother under sub-section (1), the question shall be settled as decided by the court.

9. Adopted son or daughter to be permitted to make direct contact or correspondence with natural parent :

A person adopting a son or daughter having fulfilled the legal requirements shall, if such adopted son or daughter wishes, permit him or her to maintain direct contact or make correspondence with his or her natural parents on a regular basis.

10. Right to mention the name of mother and material grandfather :

In cases where a Child is required under a law to mention the names of his father and grandfather in connection with official proceedings or in practice, the Child may, until the whereabouts of his father are known, mention the names of his mother and maternal grandfather. In the case of a Child either of whose parents are not traced, if the person or organisation bringing up the Child certifies in writing that the parents have not been traced, such Child shall have the right not to mention the names of his father, mother or grandfather.

11. Child and Criminal Liability :

(1) If the Child below the age of 10 years commits an act which is an offence under law, he shall not be liable to any type of punishment.

(2) If the age of the Child is 10 years or above 10 years and below 14 years and he commits an offence which is punishable with fine under law, he shall be warned and explained and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months depending on the offence.

(3) If the child who is above 14 years and below 16 years commits and offence he shall be punished with half of the penalty of the penalty to be imposed under law on a person who has attainted maturity.

12. Disqualifications or recidivism not to be applicable:

(1) If a person is to be disqualified to hold any office or enjoy and facility under the law for reason of committing an offence, such disqualification shall not be applicable with regard to a Child committing an offence during his childhood.

(2) For the purpose of determination of recidivism, an offence committed during childhood shall not be included therein.

(3) Even if a Child commits the some offence more than once, he shall not be liable to additional Punishment on the basis of continuation of such offence.

13. Prohibition to engage Children in begging and to make fakir :

(1) No Child shall be permitted be engaged in begging except in following the religious or cultural traditions.

(2) No measure shall be taken which will be directed towards making a Child Sanyasi, bhikchhu or fakir, and such measure, even if taken, shall not be legally valid.

(3) A Child who has been made sanyasi, bhikchhu or fakir prior to the prior to the commencement of this Act may, on attaining majority, enter into family life if he so wishes

14 Prohibition on offering of child in the name of God or Goddess:

(1) No person shall, for the permitted sanyasi of fulfilling the promise made to God or for serving any other religious purpose, offer or surrender his or anybody else's Child to any God or Goddess by buying such Child, offering economic gain, under any kind of coercion or undue influence.

(2) No person shall, by accepting economic benefit, sell or handover otherwise his child to anybody for the purpose stipulated in sub-section (1).

(3) No panda, dhami, priest or the chief of any religious enshrinement shall incite to the commission of an act contained in sub-section (1) nor shall perform or permit to perform religious formalities in cases where a person brings his Child to any temple with the purpose of offering or surrendering to God or Goddess.

(4) If any event takes place after the commencement of this Act, in violation of sub-section (1), (2) and (3) above, the father, mother or any member of the family shall take custody of the Child and make arrangements for upbringing, education and health care of such Child on equal footing with other members of the family as if such event never took place.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4), a Child referred to in sub-section (1) and (2) who is below the age' of 16 years at the commencement of this Act shall be brought up by any of the living parents.

15. Prohition on imposing rigorous punishment:

Not with-standing anything contained in the existing laws, no Child shall be subjected to handcuffs and fetters, solitary confinement or live together in prison with a prisoner who has attained maturity in case a Child is convicted for any offence.

16. Children not to be made involved in immoral profession : (1) No person shall involve or use a Child in immoral profession.

(2) No photograph of a Child shall be taken or allowed to be taken, nor such photograph shall be distributed or exhibited for the purpose of engaging a Child in immoral profession.

(3) No publication, exhibition or distribution of photograph or personal events or descriptions of a Child tarnishing the character of such Child shall be made.

(4) No Child shall be made involved it, the sale or distribution of, and trafficking in alcoholic drinks, narcotic drugs or any other drugs.

17. Restriction on employment :

(1) A Child who has not attained the age of 14 years shall not be employed in any work as a labourer.

(2) A Child who has attained the age of 14 years or above shall not he employed in work as a labourer during the period from 6 0' clock in the evening to 6 0' clock it, the morning

(3) A Child who may be employed it, work as a labourer shall not be made to be engaged it, work against his will.

(4) Every child labourer shall be provided equal remuneration for the equal work without discrimination of any kind of the Child's sex, religion, race or colour, caste and community.

18. Protection from engaging in hazardous work:

No Child shall be engaged in work that is likely to be harmful to the Child's health or to be hazardous to the Child's life.

19. Children's case not to be entertained in the absence of legal practitioner:

(1) The Court shall not entertain or decide a criminal charge brought against the Child unless there is a legal practitioner to defend the Child.

(2) In circumstances referred to in sub-section (1), the concerned Court shall make available the service of a legal practitioner appointed on behalf of His Majesty's Government or of any other legal practitioner wishing to provide such service.

20. Enforcement of Rights :

(1) For the enforcement of the rights set out in this Chapter, every person shall have the right to file a petition on behalf of the Child to a District Court of the district where the Child is residing. On receipt of such petition, the concerned Court may, upon inquiry into the matter, enforce the right by issuing the appropriate order, direction or writ. Provided that, in matters relating to the prohibition on maintaining direct contact or living by the Child in pursuance of the proviso clause of sub-section (1) of Section 8. such action may be initiated order ma" be issued only on the basis of a petition of the parent (s) of the concerned Child

(2) In cases where a person is aggrieved as a result of inflicting harm on any right conferred by this chapter, the Court may, in issuing order, direction or writ under sub-section (1), decide to grant a reasonable amount of compensation.

Taken from: http://www.cwin.org.np/resources/documents/children_act.htm
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