In 1986, the Judicial Fund Act was introduced with the aim of granting financial independence to the judiciary. The Act proposed the establishment of a revolving fund overseen by a board led by the chief justice. The funds collected would be utilized to promptly reimburse court fees, penalties, fines, guarantees, or bail amounts.
The Act stipulated that the government would contribute to the fund, in addition to the money generated from court orders. While the primary focus was on refunding court-related fees and amounts, the Act also allowed for the utilization of the fund for infrastructure development and other justice-related activities.
Moreover, the funds could be allocated for providing rewards, constructing court and residential buildings for judges and court employees, maintaining existing structures, and acquiring land.
Despite being enacted 37 years ago, the Act has yet to be implemented. It has not been published in the Nepal Gazette, a prerequisite for official recognition, nor have the regulations for its implementation been formulated. In response to the apparent lack of progress, a group of lawyers filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Friday, urging for an order to enforce the Act.
Raju Chapagain, one of the petitioners, emphasized the necessity of the judicial fund for achieving financial autonomy within the judiciary. He stated, “We had to approach the apex court because the executive branch has failed to take any steps towards its implementation over the years.” Several countries, including Canada and Kenya, have established similar funds.
Currently, fees collected by the courts, including guarantees or bail amounts, are deposited into an account but cannot be utilized as government revenue. According to the Supreme Court’s annual report for the fiscal year 2019-20, deposits exceeded Rs8.9 billion. In the subsequent fiscal year, the government transferred around Rs6 billion to state coffers, leaving over Rs2 billion in deposits.
In 2021, the Supreme Court formed a committee that recommended utilizing the funds through a revolving fund mechanism. When the committee submitted its report in July 2021, the accumulated funds from court fees, guarantees, or bail amounted to over Rs2 billion.
Man Bahadur Karki, a joint secretary and member of the study team, highlighted the need for the fund to streamline the refund process, which currently involves bureaucratic hurdles and delays.
Chapagain stressed the importance of government investment in the judiciary and called for the immediate publication of the Act in the Nepal Gazette and the formulation of necessary regulations. The first hearing is scheduled for Sunday.
According to the Act, the five-member board, led by the chief justice, would include the senior-most justice of the Supreme Court, the law secretary, and the attorney general, with the apex court registrar serving as the member secretary.