4 Nepal

The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the press, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law for defined purposes, and provides a right to information. The press is not licensed: registration and regulation are by law, not by administrative discretion over who may publish. Statutory control appears in the defamation and public offence provisions of the criminal law, the right to information statute, and the broadcasting and press council arrangements. The recurring constitutional question is whether a restriction regulates the manner of publication or punishes the opinion itself.