Boycott

Nepal lawyers boycott courts after bar president suspended

Lawyers in Nepal began a boycott of court proceedings Sunday to protest the suspension of the national bar association's leader by the Nepalese Supreme Court.

The court last week suspended Bishwa Kanta Mainali, president of the Nepal Bar Association, for six months after he suggested that many Nepalese judges accept bribes.

A bar association official said the boycott would continue until the court reverses the suspension, although some local media reported the boycott would end Tuesday.

One Supreme Court justice has called the suspension "erroneous," saying in an interview that the court should reconsider the decision after hearing from Mainali.

Questions about the integrity of Nepal's judiciary have been raised before. Last year, the International Commission of Jurists urged Nepalese lawmakers to amend the country's interim constitution to create a fully independent judiciary.

The Nepalese Supreme Court has also voiced concerns about judicial independence, pointing to a constitutional provision giving the prime minister sole discretion in appointing the chief justice.

(Published by Jurist - September 23, 2008)