KATHMANDU: More than 64,000 people have received free legal consultations through a service launched by Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) in collaboration with Nepal Law Campus.
The program, which began on January 31, 2023, has seen increasing demand across all 32 wards, according to KMC Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol.
Before the service was introduced, legal aid was largely inaccessible to many citizens due to high costs and complicated procedures, Dangol said. “Now, with legal assistance provided for free at ward offices, we are witnessing long queues of people seeking support,” she added.
The service is mainly focused on helping citizens with legal drafting, interpretation, and guidance. “The main role of legal facilitators is to ensure that legal documents — from their format, language, tone, and content — are polite, proper, and comply with existing legal standards,” said Dangol.
Facilitators are also responsible for reviewing any relevant documents or facts presented by the clients and ensuring that the advice they give does not contradict existing federal, provincial, or municipal laws.
To carry out this service, law students from Nepal Law Campus have been mobilized. A total of 50 undergraduate and graduate students have been selected, with one assigned to each ward and three stationed at the central office. Each student has been given a 16-point duty checklist that outlines their responsibilities.
Legal aid desks have been set up in all 32 wards, with furniture, space for service seekers, and necessary educational materials provided by the ward offices. The facilitators assist clients in drafting applications, complaints, petitions, responses, reconciliation agreements, and more. They also provide oral and written legal guidance.
In addition to consultations, the legal facilitators support local mediation centers and contribute to women’s programs and other ward-level activities as directed by elected officials or ward secretaries.
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