Fact Sheet

 Meeting a Critical Need

• ILF-Nepal (PDS-Nepal, from April 1, 2017) is the only organization focused solely on providing criminal defense services to the poor.

• Over the last 10 years, PDS-Nepal (Previously lawyer with ILF-Nepal) has represented over 8700 indigent clients.
• 73% of our’s clients belong to marginalized and at-risk groups, including members of lower casts, indigenous peoples, juveniles and women.
• 36% of PDS-Nepal’s cases are in quasi-judicial bodies where no other lawyers' practice and defendants would otherwise go unrepresented.

• After beginning with 2 Nepali defense lawyers with ILF-Nepal, PDS-Nepal now employs 20 lawyers.
• PDS-Nepal services 5 provinces through regional offices, including 16 in which we are the only indigent defense provider

Demonstrated Impact

Early in 2014, ILF-Nepal won a 5 year court battle when the Court of Appeal Patan upheld the accused’s constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him or her, ordering police and the prosecutor’s office to turn over evidence to the accused during the investigation stage of the case. In 2017, Supreme Court issued landmark order in favor of the order by Courts of Appeal and instructed the district court to provide the copy of investigation case file.

In 2018, Supreme Court issued another landmark order in the case represented by PDS-Nepal to provide equal opportunity & protection to defense during a trial to protect fair trial rights.

In 2017, Supreme Court issued another landmark order on PIL petition filed by ILF/PDS-Nepal to protect detainee's life who were kept in damaged prison after the earthquake. 

LF-Nepal successfully petitioned the Supreme Court of Nepal in 2009 to acknowledge that the Children’s Act of 1992 had removed juvenile cases from the jurisdiction of quasi-judicial bodies, which had regularly held accused juveniles arbitrarily and for extended periods of time.

In 2010, ILF-Nepal won a groundbreaking ruling when the Supreme Court of Nepal recognized that the constitutional right to counsel is essential to the right to fair trial and begins at the time of arrest

In 2015, ILF-Nepal in 2015 substantially increased the body of knowledge on Nepal’s criminal justice system through two in-depth research projects on access to justice in six districts of Nepal and on findings and recommendations from the ILF’s evaluation of the criminal legal aid system in Nepal.

Developing a Culture of Defense

Strategic Litigation

Through the daily advocacy of its lawyers, PDS-Nepal continually introduces and reinforces new concepts to the justice community to address previously ignored gaps.

The office focuses on challenging the use of quasi-judicial bodies, in which violations of the rights of the accused are very common, to try criminal cases.

PDS-Nepal also focuses on fighting illegal detention, which is a common abuse in Nepal. Clients will frequently be told by police that they are being summoned for ‘routine interrogation,’ arbitrarily detained and given a public nuisance charge, and then held in detention for longer than the legally allowable period. PDS-Nepal regularly secures release for these clients through the use of habeas corpus petitions.

Working with the Justice Sector

PDS-Nepal is working with the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) to develop performance standards and guidelines for the provision of criminal defense services in Nepal, as well as clear requirements for assigned counsel and legal aid lawyers. ILF/PDS-Nepal is also working with the NBA to conduct a legal awareness campaign for noth citizens and members of the justice sector in 10 districts throughout Nepal.

Providing Training to Local Lawyers

ILF/PDS-Nepal works with the NBA and with the Judges Society of Nepal to provide intensive week-long trainings, through which it has trained 500+ lawyers. These trainings help build the capacity of lawyers to provide meaningful representation, and to make clear minimum standards of effective representation and to encourage more proactive representation. ILF/PDS-Nepal is also advocating that the NBA begin to require ongoing skills training for public defenders.

Legal Clinics for Law Students

Clinical legal education is an essential tool for ensuring that law students enter the legal profession with practical skills and an understanding of the importance of the right to effective counsel. ILF/PDS-Nepal has trained 102 law students through its clinical programs, including 76 female students. Clinical students assist the office in providing quality representation to individual clients, expanding the ILF’s capacity to both reach and represent poor and marginalized accused.

Promoting the Right to Early Access

Detainees rarely have access to a lawyer at the time of arrest, despite the fact that this right is enshrined in law in Nepal. This early representation greatly reduces the likelihood of illegal and unnecessary pre-trial detention and instances of torture, abuse, and corruption, and increases the client’s right to a fair and speedy trial.

ILF/PDS-Nepal has dramatically increased its early access representation since its founding, intervening in 53.86% of cases at the police stage and 16.4% of cases at the prosecution stage. [graph by year]

PDS-Nepal’s lawyers regularly appear in court looking for defendants who need representation and also visit detention centers looking for unrepresented detainees. These lawyers visit the Kathmandu district court in order to locate and sign contracts with indigent accused persons.

PDS-Nepal is now developing a concrete mechanism in a pilot district for the appointment during the early stages of the case, including at the accused’s first court hearing, and at police stations and during prosecution interrogations.