Nepal’s Kalyan Shrestha listed as the world’s most towering judge

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha, who served the country’s Supreme Court from 2005-2016, has been listed as the world’s most towering judge by the Cambridge University Press.

Shrestha’s eleven-year SC tenure, according to Cambridge, corresponds to one of the most turbulent periods in the history of Nepal.

According to the publication, Shrestha’s legacy can be identified in the Court’s administrative reforms.

“The historical and political context of Justice Shrestha’s tenure is crucial to explain the impact of his work,” according to the publication, which added that the 11 years he spent on the SC bench, between 2005 and 2016, “correspond to a period of great political turmoil, profound constitutional transformation, and dramatic democratic change, which had a direct impact on constitutional litigation.”

It also states that the factors that led to the rise of Shrestha to the status of a towering judge “reflect a combination of individual temperament, timing, and institutional and cultural conditions.”

Former Justice Shrestha has also been dubbed as a well-liked and highly respected personality with the Nepali media describing him as a “bold judge with a clean image” for his “integrity and professionalism.”

According to the book, the primary dimension of Shrestha’s “towering personality” is institutional since he prioritized the “strengthening of the Supreme Court’s legitimacy over abrupt change, and incrementalism over political expediency.”

Shrestha’s contribution has also been lauded saying that he deployed a three-pronged strategy to achieve the goals.

According to the book, Shrestha fought to defend judicial independence even in politically controversial cases, including the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly (CA) and the forced retirement of the highest echelons of the Nepal Army.

Likewise, Shrestha’s central concern for the poor and marginalized led him to “prioritize the respect and promotion of constitutional rights and international law over political expediency.”

Shrestha’s visible legacy has also been attributed to a monumental collection of judgments in matters of transitional justice, gender equality, environmental protection, right to privacy, reproductive rights, and many others.

According to the book, Shrestha also worked to strengthen the institutional capacity of the SC both in terms of structures and personnel.

During his tenure, he introduced three Five-Year Strategic Plans, secured a sizeable budget from the government, and set up the National Judicial Academy.

The book further states that Shrestha’s mode of operation was individual. “In terms of his judicial style and relationship with the other judges, in the majority of cases he decided he was either sitting alone or in a Division Bench with another judge,” it said.

Meanwhile, Shrestha also developed a habit of writing the judgments himself, and then the other judge(s) would simply concur and undersign his judgment, according to the book.

Justice Shrestha, the book further said, fought fiercely to preserve judicial independence during the constitution-making process, and ferociously countered the proposals for the creation of a separate Constitutional Court.

He retired on April 13, 2016.