Committee gets down to statute drafting task

KATHMANDU, JUN 15 - The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) formally began work on Sunday to prepare the first draft of the constitution on the basis of the 16-point deal signed by the four parties on June 8.

The CDC has been mandated to prepare the draft within 15 days, and present it to the Constituent Assembly for deliberation.

The first meeting of the CDC held after the signing of the political agreement directed its five subcommittees to present their reports within two days by incorporating the agreed agendas.

Forwarding the report presented by the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (PDCC), the CA on Friday requested the CDC to prepare the preliminary draft of the constitution within 15 days.

“We have started work to complete our tasks on time,” said CDC member Ramesh Lekhak.

The subcommittees were formed 10 months ago to undertake specific tasks of statute drafting. They had, however, failed to complete their assignments on time due to the disputes among the political parties.

The CDC had been without business after it prepared a draft on the agreed issues as the parties had failed to iron out their differences.

The subcommittees have also been assigned to finalise other disputed issues that were not addressed by the 16-point pact. According to leaders, subcommittee members will consult with the top leaders of the parties in order to settle the issues.

The sub-panels have been asked to prepare separate drafts on the components of the constitution such as the preamble and definitions, fundamental rights, directive principles of the state, and various commissions, and structures of judiciary, legislature and the executive.

However, since some issues to be incorporated in the preamble still remain unresolved it could delay the tasks.

After the subcommittees come up with their reports, the CDC will prepare a

comprehensive draft of the constitution.

After the Assembly endorses the draft prepared by the committee, the Committee on Citizen Relations and Public Opinion Collection will start its work. The committee is responsible for publicising the draft and collecting people’s views on it.

As per the CA Rules of Procedure, the committee will organise public hearing in the district headquarters on the preliminary draft. However, the parties are preparing to remove some procedures in order to fast-track constitution promulgation.