Nepal Commission Flags Legal Concerns Over Proposed Retirement Rules

Nepal’s government is preparing to revise the draft Civil Service Bill after the Public Service Commission raised objections to provisions on retirement, pensions and senior officials. The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration plans to incorporate changes based on the commission’s recommendations before sending the revised draft to the Cabinet. The commission has objected to a proposed one-time rule that would compulsorily retire civil servants when they reach 55 years of age or complete 30 years of service. It has also questioned a proposal to reduce the tenure of secretaries from five years to three years and another provision that would calculate pensions based on only 30 years of service, regardless of an employee’s actual length of service. The commission believes these provisions could conflict with existing legal protections governing civil servants’ terms and conditions of service. The ministry is therefore examining alternatives that could address the concerns while retaining elements of the proposed retirement framework. One option under consideration would allow employees retiring at 55 or after completing 30 years of service to receive pension benefits calculated on service up to the age of 58. Nepal’s existing Civil Service Act 1993 sets the mandatory retirement age at 58 and does not prescribe retirement based on length of service. It also protects the salary, gratuity, pension and other service conditions applicable when an employee enters government service. Section 58 states that such conditions cannot be changed without the employee’s consent in a manner that adversely affects them. The commission has reminded the government of these provisions and stressed that employees should not be placed at a disadvantage by subsequent changes to their service conditions. Joint Secretary Purushottam Sharma, the commission’s spokesperson, said the recommendations followed an extensive review of the draft in light of the Constitution, existing laws and legal principles. Ministry Secretary Madan Bhujel said the draft would be revised according to its recommendations, without specifying which provisions would change. The ministry has also discussed whether provisions should be removed or new safeguards added to reduce the possibility of future legal challenges. The bill was made public in early April but has yet to be tabled in Parliament. It was sent to the Ministry of Law on May 26 for concurrence and returned after three months. The ministry sought the commission’s views on September 9, following a Cabinet decision on September 3. The commission submitted its response on September 24. Officials said the government wants to ensure that the proposed legislation has a sound legal foundation and does not adversely affect existing civil servants’ benefits. The revised draft is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet at its next meeting, after which its legislative process will proceed.