Part 12 : Attorney General | The Constitution of Nepal 2015

Part 12
Attorney General

157. Attorney General:

There shall be an Attorney General of Nepal.
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.
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.
The office of the Attorney General shall be vacant in any of the following circumstances:
1. if he or she tenders resignation in writing to the President through the Prime Minister,
2. if he or she is removed from office by the President on recommendation of the Prime Minister,
3. if he or she dies.
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:

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.
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 final decision as to whether to institute any case on behalf of the Government of Nepal in any court, judicial body or authority.
Opinion of the Attorney General must be obtained for withdrawing a case filed on behalf of the Government of Nepal.
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.
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.
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):
1. to defend, on behalf of the Government of Nepal, any lawsuit in which the Government of Nepal is a plaintiff or a defendant,
2. 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,
3. 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.
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.
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:

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.
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:

There shall be a Chief Attorney in every State, who shall be subordinate to the Attorney General.
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.
A person who is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of High Court shall be eligible to be appointed as the Chief Attorney.
The office of the Chief Attorney shall be vacant in any of the following circumstances:
1. if he or she tenders resignation in writing to the Chief of State through the Chief Minister,
2. if he or she is removed from office by the Chief of State on recommendation of the Chief Minister,
3. if he or she dies.
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.
The Office of Attorney General shall manage the employees under the Office of Chief Attorney.
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.