10.2 Scope of Family Court

The family court's jurisdictional universe (what such a court — or bench — would hear): Stream Matters Matrimonial Declaration of marriage validity; annulment; judicial separation; divorce; restitution/conjugal-relief disputes Spousal economics Maintenance and interim maintenance; alimony election; protection orders (Domestic Violence Act 2066) Property within the family Partition suits; the joint-family property classification disputes; marital-property division; dowry and daijo-pewa recovery Children Custody and access; paternity; adoption validity; children's maintenance; child- protection proceedings (the Children's Act's alternative-care decisions) Guardianship Stream Matters Guardianship appointments, removal and accounting; curatorship of minors' estates Succession Inheritance disputes; wills; estate administration conflicts Nepal's present architecture (where these matters actually go): The district courts' family benches — the specialized-bench design: designated judges hearing the family docket (with the conciliation-first mandate and in-camera practice); The local level's Judicial Committees — Article 217 of the Constitution and the Local Government Operation Act 2074's dispute list: mediation-first family matters at the ward/ municipal level (maintenance, small family disputes) — the Deputy-Mayor-convened committees; divorce and partition title remaining with the courts; The High Courts and Supreme Court — appellate supervision and the constitutional family- law jurisprudence (Units 1–9's case line); The constitutional doorway — Article 152 permits specialized courts by law for cases of a special nature: the family court's constitutional pathway; the honest position: Nepal has the machinery-in-place (benches + committees…