13.4 Judicial Council, Constitutional Council and Parliamentary

Hearing The Judicial Council (Article 153) — the judges' council: Chair — the Chief Justice; members — the federal Law Minister, the senior-most SC judge, a legal expert nominated by the President on the PM's recommendation, and a senior advocate/advocate of 20+ years nominated by the Nepal Bar Association — the mixed judge/minister/bar design. Functions: recommends SC justices, HC chief judges and judges, district judges; transfers and disciplines (except SC justices — impeachment only); maintains the qualification rosters; may call for case files and conduct inquiries. The Constitutional Council (Article 284) — the constitutional offices' council: chaired by the Prime Minister, with the Chief Justice, the Speaker, the National Assembly Chair, the Opposition leader and the Deputy Speaker — recommends the Chief Justice (its judicial function) and the chiefs and members of the constitutional bodies (CIAA, Auditor-General, PSC, Election Commission, NHRC...). The Parliamentary Hearing: constitutional appointments recommended through these councils face parliamentary hearing before confirmation — the legislature's vetting layer between recommendation and appointment; the hearing committees' scrutiny (Unit 11's committee system) is the accountability half of the appointment machinery. The three-body division to memorise: CC recommends (the top offices); JC recommends and disciplines (the judges); Parliament hears and confirms — appointment as a shared power, not any single organ's patronage.