Ebook: A glossary of constitutional terms English-Nepali

Authors: Jill Cottrell (English) & Surya Dhungel (Nepali); Kedar Bhattarai; K.B. Maharjan; Pramilla Gurung; Sristi Vaidya; Ram P. Humagai
Publisher: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 2007
Date: 2007
Pages: 116
ISBN: 978-91-85724-20-8Nepal is at a critical juncture and is poised to debate about and draft a new constitution through a constituent assembly and to strengthen the nation's commitment to the rule of law. While debating and constitution making amount to political action, drafting a constitution and its supporting laws are more technical processes, which are no less important. So care must be taken while drafting a new constitution. Constitutions are legal texts and must be written in a style that is objective, clear and precise. To refl ect the intentions of the law makers, drafters of constitutions and other laws must understand the full meaning of legal terms and the implications that the words used will have and then use the clearest words and formulations consistently. As legal texts are reference documents and normative guides, the words and formulations used in legal texts must be chosen with care, knowing that they will be subject to review and interpretation over time. Today the drafting of a constitution and supporting laws calls for a special style of writing that can be understood by ordinary people and not only by select groups of judges and lawyers.
Many legal terms, initially developed through Latin-based languages, literally get lost or mangled in translations, or are defi ned by varied users in differing contexts, creating ambiguity and confusion. International IDEA seeks to support the constitutional process in Nepal through the development of this glossary of constitutional and legal terms. The purposes of this glossary are threefold: to establish Nepali equivalents of English constitutional terms, to standardize Nepali terminologies and to contribute to the development of plain language drafting of legal and constitutional texts at this critical juncture. This glossary is the product of the wonderful teamwork undertaken by Nepali translators and constitutional experts. A number of constitution-related words have emerged during the last couple of years in the Nepali political discourse. The team debated and deliberated on these words, their proper application and recorded them in this glossary with a view to standardizing them and ensuring consistency of practice and understanding. Besides the glossary, another important consequence of this exercise in translation was the creation of a network of translators working on the same topics and themes. The Glossary of Constitutional Terms is a part of International IDEA's project, 'Supporting Constitution Building in Nepal', which is funded by the Royal Embassy of Norway and the British government. We hope this Glossary will be useful to Nepali drafters, lawyers, translators and those interested in the constitution and in its writing.