Nepal’s President appoints four Supreme Court justices

KATHMANDU: President Ramchandra Paudel has appointed four justices to Nepal’s Supreme Court. Ratna Bahadur Bagchand, Chandra Bahadur Saru, Janak Pandey and Gokarna Dangi are due to begin work on Monday.

The Judicial Council recommended all four candidates. The Parliamentary Hearing Committee then reviewed the nominations at hearings and approved them. Paudel made the appointments under Article 129(2) of Nepal’s Constitution, which gives the president the power to appoint Supreme Court judges on the council’s recommendation.

All four appointees come from Nepal’s high courts. The Office of the President said each had served as either a chief judge or a judge at that level. Their appointments bring experience from those courts to the Supreme Court, the highest court in Nepal.

Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma will administer the oath of office to the four judges. He will decide which cases they will hear when they take up their new duties. The oath and the assignment of cases are the next steps following the president’s decision.

With the appointments made, the four judges are scheduled to take up their duties at the Supreme Court on Monday.