17 C. The place of judge-made law in Nepal

The Constitution of Nepal 2072, Article 128(4): the interpretation of the Constitution and law, and the legal principles propounded by the Supreme Court, must be followed by all — a formal constitutional recognition of precedent. The Supreme Court's power to declare laws void (Art. 133(1)), its review jurisdiction over its own judgments (Art. 133(4)) and the Constitutional Bench (Art. 137) complete the structure. Leading illustrations of judge-made law in Nepal: • Sunil Babu Pant v. Government of Nepal (NKP 2067, Vol. 5) — the Court recognised that individuals of sexual and gender minorities are "natural persons" entitled to full fundamental rights, opening legal recognition beyond the binary categories. • Surya Prasad Sharma Dhungel et al. v. Godavari Marble Industries et al. (NKP 2052, p. 168; 1995) — a foundational environmental-PIL decision articulating that a clean environment is part of the right to life and that polluting industries owe duties to the environment and affected communities, decades before detailed environmental statutes matured. • A long line of public-interest litigation decisions (many initiated by Advocate Prakash Mani Sharma) on environmental protection, child rights, and detention conditions — courts making policy principles where legislation was absent.