Kathmandu, November 4
The number of pending cases in courts across Nepal has increased more than fivefold over the past 22 years, Supreme Court Registrar Baburam Dahal has said, stressing the need to expand the use of mediation to ease the growing burden on the judiciary.
Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives’ Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee during discussions on a bill to amend the Mediation Act, Dahal said the number of pending cases had risen from 64,283 in 2004 to 357,094 in 2026.
“The total number of pending cases in courts was 64,283 in 2004. By 2026, that figure had reached 357,094, or nearly 358,000. This shows that public trust in the courts, as well as the pressure of cases on the judiciary, has been increasing,” he said.
According to Dahal, 167,758 of the pending cases are of a nature that could be resolved through mediation. The judiciary’s strategic plan had set a target of referring 50 per cent of such cases to mediation and resolving 50 per cent of those referred. However, the targets have not been met.
Only 31,712 cases eligible for mediation were referred to the process. Of those, just 4,451 — around 16 per cent — were settled through mediation.
Dahal said the low number of cases being referred to mediation was one reason the process had not delivered the expected results. He said a proposal to involve judges in mediation proceedings at courts with five or more judges was therefore justified.
He also highlighted a provision allowing disputes to be referred to local governments for mediation.
Citing a case involving a financial dispute between a father-in-law and his son-in-law that had reached the Supreme Court, Dahal said the matter was resolved after being referred to the local level.
The dispute concerned a promissory note between the two parties. Following discussions at the bench, the case was sent to the local government where the dispute had originated, with one month given for mediation. The two sides eventually reached an agreement and settled the matter.
“A dispute between a father-in-law and son-in-law, which had reached the Supreme Court as a battle of egos, was settled after being referred to the local level,” Dahal told the committee.
He said local governments were often better placed to understand the nature of disputes and the social relationships between the parties, allowing some cases to be resolved without going through the full formal court process.
Dahal also said the proposed amendments would allow parties living abroad to participate in mediation through video conferencing.
This would be particularly useful in property partition and divorce cases, where one party is abroad and the other is in Nepal, making it difficult to secure agreement between them. Video conferencing would make it easier for both parties to take part in discussions and resolve their disputes, he said.
Dahal said the proposed amendments were expected to reduce the backlog of court cases, expand dispute resolution at the local level and improve citizens’ access to justice.
