State cannot run without a head :Ex-minister

Nilambar Acharya, the Law Minister of the interim government that promulgated the 1990 constitution, on Thursday said that a state cannot run without a head of the state and, therefore, the king must be respected as the acting head of state during the transitional phase.

"A state should have a head of the state, even during the transitional phase," he said adding that it is against the rule of the separation of powers and checks and balances if there is no head of the state and an executive head or other state organ chief works as the head.

Acharya was speaking at a programme on Role of 1990 Constitution for the Development of Nepal's Constitutional Process organised by Constitutional Lawyers Forum here today. He also claimed that the principle of separation of power and check and balance and the fundamental rights adopted in the 1990 Constitution are very good provisions.

"The king had exercised all powers, which was given to the executive. However, he authorised himself to formalise the decisions as the head of the state," he added. Acharya also said the king now has no authority to make appointments or give consent to any decision, " he added.

He said that now King Gyanendra is like the kings in Mustang and Manang.

Legal expert Yuba Raj Sangroula said the 1990 Constitution failed because it could not adopt any provision guaranteeing the economic rights of the people, which he said was the most essential rights in modern period.

Yash Ghai, professor of Hong Kong University, said the 1990 Constitution could not include the ethnicity issues, which rendered it a failure. He underscored the necessity of a new constitution to solve the problem.

President of Nepal Bar Association, Shambhu Thapa criticised the idea of adopting a provision to decide about the fate of the King by a simple majority. He said that it would be better to decide on such a major issue by referendum.