• Public law regulates the relationship between the State and individuals. Branches: constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, taxation law. Example: the Constitution of Nepal; the Muluki Criminal Code (the State prosecutes crimes as offences against society).
• Private law regulates relationships between private persons. Branches: law of contract, tort, property, family law, succession. Example: the contract provisions of the Muluki Civil Code 2074; Partition Act 2020.
Nepali note: the relaxed locus standi rules of public-interest litigation under the writ jurisdiction (Art. 46 read with Arts. 133(2) and 144(1)) show how public law operates differently from private litigation.