Attorney General

157. Attorney General: (1) There shall be an Attorney General of Nepal.

(2) The President shall, on recommendation of the Prime Minister,

appoint the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall hold office during the

pleasure of the Prime Minister.

(3) A person who is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme

Court shall be eligible to be appointed as the Attorney General.

(4) The office of the Attorney General shall be vacant in any of the

following circumstances:

(a) if he or she tenders resignation in writing to the President through

the Prime Minister,

(b) if he or she is removed from office by the President on

recommendation of the Prime Minister,

(c) if he or she dies.

(5) The remuneration and other facilities of the Attorney General shall

be similar to those of a Judge of the Supreme Court. Other conditions of service of

the Attorney General shall be in accordance with law.

158. Functions, duties and powers of Attorney General: (1) The Attorney General

shall be the chief legal advisor to the Government of Nepal. It shall be the duty of

the Attorney General to give opinions and advices on constitutional and legal

matters to the Government of Nepal and such other authorities as the Government

of Nepal may specify.

(2) The Attorney General or government attorneys subordinate to him or

her shall represent the Government of Nepal in lawsuits wherein the rights,

interests or concerns of the Government of Nepal are involved. Except as provided

otherwise in this Constitution, the Attorney General shall have the right to make a

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final decision as to whether to institute any case on behalf of the Government of

Nepal in any court, judicial body or authority.

(3) Opinion of the Attorney General must be obtained for withdrawing a

case filed on behalf of the Government of Nepal.

(4) The Attorney General may, upon invitation by the Federal

Parliament or any of its committees, to appear and express his or her opinion on

any legal question in such a meeting.

(5) In the course of discharging the duties of his or her office, the

Attorney General shall have the right to appear in any Court, office and authority

of Nepal.

(6) The Attorney General shall, in the course of performing his or her

duties, have the power to carry out the following acts, in addition to that set forth

in clause (2):

(a) to defend, on behalf of the Government of Nepal, any lawsuit in

which the Government of Nepal is a plaintiff or a defendant,

(b) to monitor, or cause to be monitored, whether any interpretation

given to a law or any legal principle laid down by the Supreme Court

in the course of hearing of lawsuits has been implemented,

(c) if a complaint is made alleging that any person held in custody has

not been treated humanely subject to this Constitution or such person

has not been allowed to meet his or her relative or through his or her

legal practitioner or if information of such matter is received, to

inquire there into and give necessary directive to the concerned

authority to prevent such act.

(7) The Attorney General may so delegate his or her functions, duties

and powers under this Article to his or her subordinate government attorneys as to

be exercised and complied with subject to the specified conditions.

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(8) In addition to the functions, duties and powers mentioned in this

Article, other functions, duties and powers of the Attorney General shall be

pursuant to this Constitution and the Federal law.

159. Annual report: (1) The Attorney General shall, every year, submit to the

President an annual report on the works which he or she has performed pursuant to

this Constitution and the Federal law, and the President shall cause such report to

be laid before the Federal Parliament through the Prime Minister.

(2) The annual report to be submitted pursuant to clause (1) shall set out,

inter alia, the number of advices and opinions on constitutional and legal matters

rendered by him or her throughout the year, and short description of such advices

and opinions, details of cases instituted as state cases, details of defence made in

lawsuits in which the Government of Nepal is a plaintiff or defendant, details of

reforms to be made in the future in relation to cases to be instituted as state cases

and information relating to crime trends.

160. Chief Attorney: (1) There shall be a Chief Attorney in every State, who shall be

subordinate to the Attorney General.

(2) The Chief of State shall, on recommendation of the concerned Chief

Minister, appoint the Chief Attorney. The Chief Attorney shall hold office during

the pleasure of the Chief Minister.

(3) A person who is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of High Court

shall be eligible to be appointed as the Chief Attorney.

(4) The office of the Chief Attorney shall be vacant in any of the

following circumstances:

(a) if he or she tenders resignation in writing to the Chief of State

through the Chief Minister,

(b) if he or she is removed from office by the Chief of State on

recommendation of the Chief Minister,

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(c) if he or she dies.

(5) The Chief Attorney shall be the chief legal advisor to the State

Government. It shall be the duty of the Chief Attorney to give opinions and

advices on constitutional and legal matters to the State Government and such other

authorities as the State Government may specify.

(6) The Office of Attorney General shall manage the employees under

the Office of Chief Attorney.

(7) The remuneration and other facilities of the Chief Attorney shall be

similar to those of a Judge of High Court. The functions, duties and powers and

other conditions of service of the Chief Attorney shall be as provided for in the

State law.

161. Provisions relating to conditions of service and facilities: Provisions relating to

the remuneration, facilities and conditions of service of the government attorneys

and other employees under the Attorney General shall be as provided for in the

Federal Act.