초록 열기/닫기 버튼
The Constitution of Nepal has institutionalized Nepal as a cooperative federalism and has laid down cooperation, coordination and coexistence as principles of federal governance. It is too early to pass a judgement on how the Nepalese federalism will fare in actual practice. However, we should not lose sight of problems built into the constitution of Nepalese federalism. Closer examination shows that there are conceptual-theoretical inconsistencies and contradictions inherent in the conception of cooperative federalism evident in the idea of autonomy, federation and concurrence of power. Nepalese federalism is no exception to this. In the absence of clarity and concretization of autonomy, federalism and concurrence of power, cooperative federalism will be inoperative by inviting insurmountable conflicts. To me, the most effective way to overcome this situation, is that cooperation as normative ideal and as enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal can and ought to be consolidated by instituting constitutional and legal provisions which require higher federal units to have consultation and discussion with the lower units before legislating and implementing programs and policies having a bearing on and to be implemented by the latter. These provisions can contribute to cooperatizing cooperative federalism by requiring higher body to behave as a coordinator or a leader in cooperative relations. Furthermore, there are practical problems that are largely attributable, among others, to elitist and undemocratic political culture rampant in political parties manifested in inter-party as well as intra-party relations; and lack of constitutional provisions necessary for maintaining a balance between federalism and autonomy. In addition, absence of national programs in Nepal, which, otherwise, would have decidedly compelled, induced and driven all units to work together in the true spirit of cooperation, constitutes a barrier to the effective practice of cooperative federalism.
