NCJ Number
75983
Date Published
Unknown
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Crime rates, types of crime, the prosecutorial and judicial machinery and types of punishment are described in Nepal in view of recent legal and judicial reforms.
Abstract
Basic statistics on the types and low incidence of crime in Nepal are provided. In 1951 a legal system that discriminated on the basis of caste, sex, and tribe was abolished. Changes in the penal section of the General Code eliminated the death penalty for all but a few offenses and provided for offender rehabilitation. Preliminary criminal investigation procedures by the police and the district attorney are also conducted in a manner that more adequately safeguards individual rights. Thus, for example, under the provisions of the Constitution, no one can be detained in custody for more than 24 hours. Degrees of punishment in Nepal include capital punishment, life imprisonment with confiscation of property, life imprisonment only, simple imprisonment with fine, simple imprisonment only, and simple fine only. Four types of Nepali courts include the district Court (the court of first instance), Zonal Court (first level of appellate court), Regional Court (the second level of appellate jurisdiction), and the Supreme Court (the final court). The Supreme Court also exercises appellate jurisdiction and extraordinary jurisdiction on writ cases. One table is provided.