Law Ministry Pushes Bills on Lapsed Ordinances, Mediation, and Pensions

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam has defended a series of legislative moves in the Federal Parliament, seeking to restore statutory provisions left dormant by lapsed ordinances while steering broader reforms in local dispute mediation and state benefits.

Speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Gautam clarified that the government introduced the "Bill to Revive Provisions of Some Nepal Acts, 2083" solely to address a legal void, according to reports by Annapurna Post and Nagarik News. Nagarik News reported that the administration had promulgated the Special Provisions Concerning Removal of Public Officials Ordinance on Baishakh 19, 2083 under Article 114 of the Constitution. After that ordinance expired without parliamentary enactment, the amendments it introduced became void. Gautam told lawmakers that the revival bill introduces no new policy measures and simply reactivates the lapsed statutory clauses.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have mounted widespread proposals to adjust another major bill steered by the ministry. Onlinekhabar reported that 12 groups of lawmakers registered a total of 66 amendments to the Mediation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2083. Gautam had originally tabled the draft in the lower house on Shrawan 14.

The mediation bill seeks to decentralise dispute settlement to provincial and local jurisdictions in line with Nepal's federal framework, according to Onlinekhabar. The proposal permits local communities to establish mediation centres in coordination with municipal governments, while relaxing the academic threshold to secondary education if university graduates cannot be found locally. The legislation also introduces video-conferencing options for mediation sessions, establishes a commercial dispute mediation committee, and allows designated district judges in courts with five or more judges to act as mediators without collecting additional allowances. Lawmakers proposing alterations include Manish Jha, Padma Kumari Aryal, Sulav Kharel, and Sajida Khatun Siddiki, among others.

Alongside procedural reforms, the ministry is advancing measures to curtail retirement packages for political appointees. Deshsanchar reported on September 24 that Gautam told the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee that the government will bar constitutional and political appointees from drawing state pensions and gratuities. Addressing deliberations on the First Amendment Bill to the Act on Remuneration, Terms of Service and Benefits of Officials of Constitutional Bodies, 2083, Gautam maintained that retirement stipends must remain restricted to career civil servants rather than political picks.

According to Deshsanchar, Gautam said the immediate bill addresses dual-benefit claims following a directive from the Supreme Court. Although resource and calendar constraints prevented a complete rewrite of the principal statute immediately, she noted that the ministry plans a full legislative review to strip political appointees of pension entitlements permanently.