HoR rewrites rules setting procedural deadlines

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 22: A new draft of the House of Representatives rules has introduced strict time limits for handling unresolved impeachment motions, aiming to prevent long-standing cases from remaining undecided across parliamentary terms. The proposal, contained in the House Rules 2083 (2026) draft report, requires the incoming House of Representatives to act within clearly defined deadlines once an election has taken place.

According to the draft, any impeachment motion that remains unresolved at the end of a parliamentary term will automatically be carried forward as a formal record for the newly elected House. The new House will be required to receive such records within five months of its formation and must reach a final decision within a further five months, effectively creating a maximum ten-month window for completion.

The Rules Draft Committee submitted the report to Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal on Tuesday. Officials say the changes are intended to close procedural gaps that have previously allowed politically sensitive motions to remain in limbo for extended periods.

The need for reform has been highlighted by the unresolved impeachment motion filed against former Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JBR in the 2074 parliamentary term. Although the motion remains officially on record in Parliament, no final decision has ever been reached. A similar provision introduced in the 2079 rules attempted to address such situations by allowing motions to be carried forward, but it did not result in a conclusion.

Under the latest draft, even motions that have gone through expedited procedures but remain undecided will not lapse with the dissolution of Parliament. Instead, they will continue into the next elected House under mandatory timelines.

Alongside impeachment reforms, the draft introduces several procedural and definitional changes. It formally defines unparliamentary language, including words that are offensive, discriminatory, obscene or otherwise contrary to public morality. It also expands the definition to cover remarks that demean individuals or groups on the basis of caste, religion, language, gender or geography.

A new legal definition of delegated legislation has also been added. This includes regulations, orders, by-laws, guidelines, procedures, standards and formation orders issued under authority delegated by Parliament, thereby clarifying the scope of secondary law-making powers.

The draft further proposes that parliamentary rules be implemented with the force of special legislation, strengthening their legal standing within the federal framework. However, it removes earlier provisions relating to certain internal committees, including the Women’s Coordination Committee, and restructures administrative arrangements within the House.

Other procedural adjustments include changes to legislative timelines, such as extending the notice period for introducing bills to allow lawmakers more time for scrutiny. The draft also revises the system for assessing the implementation of laws, reducing the review period from three years to two years in an effort to improve legislative monitoring.

Although the draft focuses heavily on procedural discipline, it also reflects broader efforts to strengthen parliamentary accountability, improve efficiency in handling sensitive motions, and modernise legislative practice. If adopted, the new rules are expected to significantly reshape how the House of Representatives manages impeachment cases, law-making procedures and internal governance in the coming parliamentary term.