Introduction
The legal landscape in Nepal is undergoing rapid change, driven by new legislation, constitutional litigation, and reforms in the justice sector. For lawyers, students, and researchers, tracking these developments has become both more important and more challenging.
This blog highlights some of the key legal trends and developments to watch in 2025–26 and suggests how structured research can help you stay updated.
Legislative Agenda: 121 New Laws Planned
The Government of Nepal has announced an ambitious legislative agenda for Fiscal Year 2082/83 (2025/26), with plans to introduce 121 new laws. According to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, these bills are linked to government policies, periodic plans, sectoral strategies, budgets, and international treaty obligations.
Alongside primary legislation, multiple regulations, by-laws, directives, and work procedures have recently been registered with the ministry, expanding the volume of subordinate legislation that practitioners must track.
For legal researchers, this means staying current requires more than checking the Nepal Gazette; it calls for organized, searchable databases that bring statutes and regulations into one place.
Company Law and the Business Environment
Corporate law has been a particular focus of reform. In March 2025, the government ratified the "Act to Amend Some Nepal Acts Relating to Improving Economic and Business Environment and Enhancing Investment 2081 (2025 A.D.)" These amendments impact the Company Act and related laws.
Key reported changes include:
- Allowing issuance of shares for non-cash contributions such as intellectual property or services.
- Formalizing employee share ownership plans and raising caps on share issuance, with higher limits for startups.
- Permitting cross-appointments of directors between related companies, with certain sectoral exceptions.
- Providing a one-time 90 percent reduction in penalties for late filing of returns within a specified period.
These reforms are intended to modernize Nepal's corporate framework, improve investor confidence, and align practice with evolving business needs.
Environmental Protection and Conservation Jurisprudence
Environmental law is another area where the Supreme Court has played a pivotal role. In January 2025, Nepal's top court struck down measures that would have allowed development of infrastructure projects inside national parks and other protected areas.
The constitutional bench, led by the Chief Justice, issued what observers described as one of the most significant decisions in the country's conservation history, scrapping provisions that would have opened protected areas to construction. This judgment reinforces constitutional commitments to environmental protection and will guide future infrastructure and energy projects that overlap with conservation zones.
Indigenous Rights and International Obligations
On 6 June 2025, the Supreme Court issued a directive requiring federal, provincial, and local governments to ensure their laws, policies, and programmes align with ILO Convention No. 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
The decision, following a petition filed in 2017 by the Lawyers' Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP), mandates recognition of indigenous peoples' identity, language, culture, and traditional land rights as minimum standards. It also emphasizes the need for participation and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in decisions affecting indigenous communities.
For practitioners in constitutional law, human rights, and development projects, this ruling creates a powerful precedent that can be invoked in future litigation and advocacy.
Criminal Law and Family Law Reforms
Debates on reforming criminal and family law are also ongoing. A bill to amend the Criminal Code proposes changes to how polygamous marriages are treated.
Currently, Section 175(5) of the Criminal Code provides that a polygamous marriage referred to in subsection (1) is ipso facto void. Under the proposed amendments, certain polygamous marriages will no longer be automatically annulled, particularly where a child is born or other conditions apply, although the person committing polygamy will still face imprisonment and fines.
These changes raise important questions for family law practitioners and judges about marital status, inheritance, and the rights of spouses and children.
Justice Sector Digitization and Access to Legal Aid
The government's policy and programme for 2025–26 also emphasizes judicial reform, including modernization and greater use of technology. Planned reforms include digitizing court processes, reducing paperwork, and improving judicial infrastructure to speed up proceedings.
The government has also highlighted the need to expand legal aid for marginalized groups and streamline procedures for obtaining legal support. In this context, digital legal research platforms can complement state reforms by giving practitioners and legal aid providers quick access to updated cases and statutes.
How to Stay Research-Ready
Given the volume and complexity of ongoing reforms, relying on manual research methods alone is increasingly difficult. Platforms like Eksana bring together Supreme Court judgments, NKP Najirs, and key statutory materials in a single, searchable environment — helping users quickly locate and understand relevant materials.
By combining structured data and AI-assisted summaries, digital research tools can support:
- Corporate lawyers interpreting recent amendments to company and investment laws.
- Public interest lawyers working on environmental and indigenous rights cases.
- Family law practitioners tracking changes to criminal and marriage provisions.
- Students preparing research papers, moot court submissions, and case notes.
For anyone engaging with Nepal's fast-changing legal landscape, building a disciplined research habit — backed by the right tools — is now essential.