Capital punishment in Nepal

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Nepal on the map Nepal (orthographic projection).svg
Nepal on the map

Capital punishment in Nepal has been abolished. [1]

For crimes under the country's common law, capital punishment was abolished by legal reform in 1946. It was later reinstated for murder and terrorism in 1985. [2] Full abolition by constitutional amendment came into force on 9 November 1991.

Article 12 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal (1990) states: [3] "No law shall be made which provides for capital punishment."

The last execution in Nepal took place in 1979. [3] The National Penal Code, 2017 (2074) has set out the types of punishment permissible in Nepal: Imprisonment for Life, Imprisonment, Fine, Imprisonment and Fine, Compensation, Imprisonment for the failure to pay a fine or compensation, and Community Service in lieu of imprisonment. [4]

Reasons for abolition

According to a study by Cornell Law School, [5] one of the key factors leading to the abolition was a 15-year period of monitored experimental abolition, which involved a moratorium on executions for common law offenses, during which crime rates remained stable, reassuring the public and the policy makers and paving the way for abolition for ordinary crimes in 1946.

The study also notes that the transition to a multi-party constitutional monarchy, in 1990, "provided a propitious context for abolition", seen as part of a broad program of human rights reform aimed at breaking with the past.

Related Research Articles

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment by country</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United States</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Belarus</span>

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Belarus. At least one execution was carried out in the country in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Europe</span>

Capital punishment has been completely abolished in all European countries except for Belarus and Russia, the latter of which has a moratorium and has not carried out an execution since September 1996. The complete ban on capital punishment is enshrined in both the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU) and two widely adopted protocols of the European Convention on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and is thus considered a central value. Of all modern European countries, San Marino, Portugal, and the Netherlands were the first to abolish capital punishment, whereas only Belarus still practises capital punishment in some form or another. In 2012, Latvia became the last EU member state to abolish capital punishment in wartime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Taiwan</span>

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Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Pakistan. Although there have been numerous amendments to the Constitution, there is yet to be a provision prohibiting the death penalty as a punitive remedy.

Capital punishment in Malaysia is used as a penalty within its legal system for various crimes. There are currently 27 capital crimes in Malaysia, including murder, drug trafficking, treason, acts of terrorism, waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and, since 2007, rape resulting in death. Executions are carried out by hanging. Capital punishment was mandatory for 11 crimes for many years. In October 2018, the government imposed a moratorium on all executions with a view to repeal the death penalty altogether, before it changed its stance and agreed to keep the death penalty but would make it discretionary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Armenia</span>

Capital punishment in Armenia was a method of punishment that was implemented within Armenia's Criminal Code and Constitution until its eventual relinquishment in the 2003 modifications made to the Constitution. Capital punishment's origin in Armenia is unknown, yet it remained present in the Armenia Criminal Code of 1961, which was enforced and applied until 1999. Capital punishment was incorporated into Armenian legislation and effectuated for capital crimes, which were crimes that were classified to be punishable by death, including treason, espionage, first-degree murder, acts of terrorism and grave military crimes.

Capital punishment in Georgia was completely abolished on 1 May 2000 when the country signed Protocol 6 to the ECHR. Later Georgia also adopted the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. Capital punishment was replaced with life imprisonment.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Ireland</span>

Capital punishment in Ireland was abolished in statute law in 1990, having been abolished in 1964 for most offences including ordinary murder. The last person to be executed was Michael Manning, hanged for murder in 1954. All subsequent death sentences in Ireland, the last handed down in 1985, were commuted by the President, on the advice of the Government, to terms of imprisonment of up to 40 years. The Twenty-first Amendment to the constitution, passed by referendum in 2001, prohibits the reintroduction of the death penalty, even during a state of emergency or war. Capital punishment is also forbidden by several human rights treaties to which the state is a party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Portugal</span>

Capital punishment in Portugal has been abolished. Portugal was a pioneer in the abolition of capital punishment. No executions have been carried out since 1846, with the formal abolition of capital punishment for civil wrong occurring in 1867.

Being involved in the illegal drug trade in certain countries, which may include illegally importing, exporting, selling or possession of significant amounts of drugs, constitutes a capital offence and may result in capital punishment for drug trafficking, or possession assumed to be for drug trafficking. There are also extrajudicial executions of suspected drug users and traffickers in at least 2 countries without drug death penalties by law: Mexico and Philippines.

Capital punishment remains a legal penalty for multiple crimes in The Gambia. However, the country has taken recent steps towards abolishing the death penalty.

Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty following a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.

Capital punishment is no longer a legal punishment in Rwanda. The death penalty was abolished in the country in 2007.

Capital punishment in Burkina Faso has been abolished. In late May 2018, the National Assembly of Burkina Faso adopted a new penal code that omitted the death penalty as a sentencing option, thereby abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Uganda. The death penalty was likely last carried out in 1999, although some sources say the last execution in Uganda took place in 2005. Regardless, Uganda is interchangeably considered a retentionist state with regard to capital punishment, due to absence of "an established practice or policy against carrying out executions," as well as a de facto abolitionist state due to the lack of any executions for over one decade.

References

  1. "Death Penalty | Amnesty International". Amnesty.org. 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  2. "Down with the death penalty".
  3. 1 2 "HANDS OFF CAIN against death penalty in the world". Handsoffcain.info. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  4. "Best Criminal Lawyer in Nepal । 20 Years Experienced Lawyers". 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  5. "Pathways to Abolition of Death Penalty" (PDF). www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org. Cornell Law School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.