NATIONAL 2 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Debate On Downsizing

The large number of appellate courts have become a headache for the judiciary

By KESHAB POUDEL

The last ten years of experiment in judiciary have shown that the increasing number of appellate courts have created more problems than solutions.

Within the judiciary the demand to reduce the number appellate courts is gaining momentum. But the question is will the government accept it.

The number of appellate courts, judges and justices claim, has eroded the quality of justice delivery and judiciary system. If the present situation is allowed to continue, judiciary may have difficult time to maintain these courts.

"There is no rationale in keeping such a large number of appellate courts in the country with the cost of tax payers money," said acting Chief Justice Laxman Prasad Aryal, addressing an interaction program organized to seek opinion on appellate court.

Along with acting Chief Justice, other judges and justices, too, are in a mood to reduce the number of appellate courts. But political parties are yet to reconcile with it. As political parties want to keep their voters in good humor, the issue of reducing the number of appellate court is nobody's agenda.

"We will oppose any move to reduce the number of appellate court," said Sitanandan Raya, former Law and Justice Minister and leader of CPN-ML.

The studies regarding the appellate courts show that there is no reason to retain the existing 18 appellate courts in the country but the reality speaks otherwise.

Despite low utility of large number of appellate courts, the government is still keeping 18 appellate courts in the country to keep its political promise.

Justices and legal experts argue that large number of appellate court is responsible for the deteriorating quality of judicial decision.

Despite the continual demand of judiciary to reduce the number of courts, the executive is reluctant as it does not want to get involved in the controversy.

There are 100 judges in the appellate courts with 29,533 cases in pending. The average case for a judge in the appellate court is 300 compared to 700 for a judge in district court.

Appellate courts also consume more than half the budget of district courts. According to a study, a district court requires about 5 million rupees budget.

This is not for the first time that the demand over judicial restructuring has appeared. In the last five decades of evolution, the structure of judiciary have been changed many times.

"For the moment, it may be an achievement to prune the number of courts. Establishing of appellate courts demands fulfillment of certain criteria or parameter," said Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki.

Presenting the paper, Kashi Raj Dahal, of spokesman of the Supreme Court questioned the rationale behind setting up such a large number of appellate courts. "There is no reason at all to retain large number of appellate courts," Dahal said.

"We are ready to support the efforts of the government to reduce the number," said Prem Bahadur Singh, former Law and Justice Minister.

As the debate goes on about the number of Appellate Courts, the government has not yet made its position clear regarding the issue.