Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: President Ramchandra Paudel has appointed Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma as the 32nd Chief Justice of Nepal.
President Paudel appointed Sharma on Tuesday, hours after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee unanimously endorsed the Constitutional Council’s recommendation to appoint him as Chief Justice.
The Constitutional Council recommended Dr Sharma, who ranks fourth in seniority of justices in the Supreme Court, for the position on May 7. His appointment breaks Nepal’s long-standing tradition of appointing the Chief Justice based on seniority. Two out of six members of the council had written a note of dissent against the decision.
Senior-most Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, who was serving as Acting Chief Justice following Prakash Mansingh Raut’s retirement, Kumar Regmi and Hari Prasad Phuyal were ahead of Dr Sharma in the seniority of justices in the apex court.
Chief Justices in Nepal serve a six-year term. However, chief justices must take retirement when they turn 65. Since Dr Sharma will turn 65 only in 2035, he will complete his full six-year term in 2032.
Born in Parsa in 1970, Dr Sharma completed his BL from Nepal Law Campus in Kathmandu and his LLM from Pune University in India. He also earned a PhD in Labour Law from Tribhuvan University.
Sharma has been practicing law since he took the advocate license in 1995. He was appointed Supreme Court Justice in 2019.
