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Law And Injustice An expert provides a mirror image of the victim justice system in Nepal By KESHAB POUDEL People victimized by criminals or wronged by society and its laws have recourse to legal remedies. However, in many cases, a victim has to pass through several harrowing phases of indignities before getting the offenders punished. In their quest for justice, victims are forced to repeatedly recount graphic details of the horrors perpetrated on them. The situation of the victims of rape, girl trafficking and domestic violence becomes pathetic particularly when they are being questioned in an open court. In practice, victims have been forgotten by the justice system. Dr. Shankar Kumar Shrestha, a former government attorney, has made a commendable effort to highlight various aspects of Nepal’s victim justice system. With a varied experience of nearly two and a half decades in the field, Dr Shrestha is well acquainted with criminal justice system. During his career in the judicial system, Dr. Shrestha served as a government attorney as well as a judge in four district courts. As a government attorney, he defended hundreds of cases in court, protecting the privacy and interest of victims of rapes, girl trafficking and domestic violence. As a judge of district courts, Dr. Shrestha has first-hand experience of the lapses in procedure and other complications in the victim justice system. "The old historical principle of jurisprudence has failed — the principle that the system provide justice to victims both in terms of compensation, rehabilitation and social succor and at the same time punishment for the criminals in terms of imprisonment, fine, compensation and social boycott," said Dr. Shrestha. In the existing system, the police, as a state party, investigate the case and complete their duty by analyzing whether a crime is committed or not. However, they do not probe whether the crime victim needs succor or how is he or she is suffering from the trauma. According to Dr. Shrestha, the prosecutor prosecutes the case in the court with a charge sheet mostly based on confession, not on factual evidence. He does not have the authority to ask anything for the welfare of crime victims. Finally, there is the court, where the judge delivers or discharges his or her decision — and ethically justice is served. In such system, it is virtually impossible to deliver justice to crime victims. In reality, there is no place for crime victims in the judicial process. As the accused is the main figure of the criminal justice system, the pain and suffering of the victims recede into irrelevancy. While basing his work on the Nepalese experience, Dr. Shrestha also deals with important international conventions and definitions of the victim justice system. He cites major decisions taken by Nepalese and foreign courts on the subject. Dr. Shrestha also analyzes the existing legal system on victims, including the Muluki Ain 1963, State Cases Act, 1992, Vehicle and Traffic Management Act, 1992 and Women Trafficking Act (Control) Act 1986. Dr. Shrestha also makes a probing evaluation of constitutional provisions. Following the restoration of multiparty democracy, many books have come out on different facets of the judicial system of Nepal. Dr. Shrestha has attempted to encourage an informed discussion in the new area of victimology. One of the important strengths of the book is that it is based on the experience and experiments of Nepalese legal system. To foreign readers, too, it offers highlights of the Nepalese victim legal system. The book should prove helpful to both scholars and students of Nepal’s criminal and victim justice system. A Step Towards Victim Justice System, |
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