5.6 Pro-Bono Services in Nepal

Pro bono publico — "for the public good" — means voluntary, unpaid professional legal service to those who cannot afford it or to public-interest causes. It differs from legal aid (which is an organised, often state-funded scheme — 5.7): pro bono is the profession's own charity. Forms of pro bono in Nepal: 1. Individual advocates taking deserving cases without fees (a long Bar tradition — many landmark PIL cases were fought unpaid); 2. Public-interest litigation by advocates on environment, prisoners' rights, consumers' rights, gender justice (e.g., the celebrated cases of Advocate Prakash Mani Sharma — see Unit 2); 3. Bar-unit and NGO legal clinics — camps, helplines, prison-visit programs (organizations such as FWLD, Pro Public, CeLRRd and campus legal-aid clinics); 4. Free legal advice desks attached to courts and bar associations; 5. Free representation in legal-aid committee referrals under the Legal Aid Act. Challenges: no comprehensive pro bono data/culture of mandatory reporting; economic pressure on young lawyers; uneven rural coverage; need to institutionalise pro bono hours in licensing/ renewal. Constitutional anchor: Article 20(10) (free legal aid) and the general commitment to access to justice make pro bono not optional nobility but professional duty in substance.