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Arbitration is a way for two sides to solve a fight without going to a normal court. In arbitration, both sides choose an expert or a group of experts called arbitrators. These arbitrators listen to each person, study the facts, and decide what should happen in a fair way. Many businesses like arbitration because it is faster, quieter, and more comfortable than a court case. In Nepal, more people and companies are choosing arbitration to solve business problems. This helps them feel safe when they plan big projects, build new services, sign contracts, or invest money. When the system is clear and easy to use, businesses feel confident that problems can be solved without long delays. This confidence helps the country grow because companies are not scared to take risks or start new work. Local reports and ADR groups say that arbitration and mediation now play a bigger role in Nepal’s legal system, especially in business disputes.

Arbitration also brings three helpful things that business people value: speed, expertise, and final results. Speed means the case ends faster than a long court fight. Expertise means the arbitrator understands the subject area, such as building work, banking, trade, or engineering. Final results mean the decision is usually respected and simpler to enforce. Because of this, more industries in Nepal use arbitration today. Construction companies, traders, energy groups, and private contractors often include arbitration clauses when they sign agreements. Institutions like the Nepal Council of Arbitration and other growing centres offer clear rules, training, and panels of skilled experts. These steps help people trust the system. ADR events and studies in Nepal show that trained arbitrators, strong institutions, and fair procedures are very important. When arbitration is simple and fair, even small businesses feel comfortable using it for their disputes.

Numbers also help us understand how arbitration supports business confidence in Nepal. Even though there is no complete official record of every ADR case, experts, ADR centres, and lawyers agree that ADR use has grown steadily over the last ten years. Tentative estimates show this rise clearly: around 420 cases in 2015, 470 in 2016, 540 in 2017, 620 in 2018, 730 in 2019, 820 in 2020, 940 in 2021, 1,120 in 2022, 1,380 in 2023, and about 1,720 in 2024. These numbers include both mediation and arbitration. They show steady growth because people now understand ADR better, more institutions are active, and more contracts include ADR clauses. Large construction work, business projects, and cross-border deals have also increased the number of arbitration cases. These figures also show why Nepal needs a national ADR database. If the government tracks ADR cases clearly, businesses and investors will trust the system more. Clear data helps leaders make better rules and helps companies plan their future with confidence.

Nepal is also part of a global trend where arbitration is trusted for international business. Around the world, big organizations report hundreds of arbitration cases every year, especially in trade, construction, and cross-border investment. International companies choose arbitration because the rules are neutral and the decisions can be enforced in many countries. As Nepal receives more foreign investment in hydropower, tourism, technology, and infrastructure, it needs a strong arbitration system that foreign partners can trust. Investors want to know that if a dispute happens, it will be handled fairly and without long delay. When Nepal builds this trust, more foreign companies will join with Nepali businesses, share new ideas, and invest in long-term plans. A strong arbitration system helps Nepal become a more stable and attractive place for business.

Nepal still faces some challenges that must be fixed. First, the rules need to be clearer and more updated so they match international standards. This includes making awards easier to enforce and reducing slow procedures. Second, Nepal needs more institutions with trained staff, good case-handling systems, and clear steps. Third, more public awareness is needed because many people still think court is the only way to solve a dispute. Experts also want Nepal to support online arbitration so cases can be handled faster, even from far away. At this stage, legal professionals play a big role. A skilled law firm in Nepal can help clients understand ADR, write simple arbitration clauses, and guide them through the process. Even a criminal lawyer in Nepal can explain ADR options when civil or business matters touch criminal elements or when clients need to understand the difference between court cases and private dispute systems. When people understand their choices, they feel more confident.

To make arbitration a strong tool for building business confidence, Nepal needs steady and practical steps. Lawmakers should update the Arbitration Act to remove confusion and create clear rules for enforcing decisions. Institutions should train more arbitrators so cases can be handled by skilled people. Nepal should build a national data system to track all ADR cases. More education is needed to teach businesses how arbitration works and why it helps them. Technology should also be used to support online hearings, digital filing, and easy tracking. Private lawyers and experts will continue to play an important part in this progress. Any active law firm in Nepal can help companies prepare fair arbitration agreements and teach them how to manage disputes in a peaceful way. With stronger rules, better training, good technology, and clear information, Nepal can build an arbitration system that supports trust, growth, and long-term business success.

If past practices are anything to go by, the judiciary has delivered a plethora of landmark rulings in defense of the people’s cause. It has dispensed justice without discrimination, welcomed public grievances, and issued judgments consistent with established legal principles and human rights, thereby fulfilling the aspirations of aggrieved parties.

Article 133 of the Constitution of Nepal confers broad powers on the Supreme Court to issue appropriate orders and writs in the name of the State and concerned parties. This provision may be regarded as the “appropriate proceeding clause” of the Constitution. In this respect, the apex court exercises extraordinary jurisdiction to advance justice through various writs and orders.

Landmark rulings 

In Sunil Babu Pant v Government of Nepal and Others (2007), the Supreme Court (SC), while considering a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), recognized transgender and LGBTIQA+ individuals as a “third gender,” ensuring their legal identity and access to services, education, and voting. The Court also directed the government to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and held the State accountable for past abuses. Through this decision, the apex court protected the human rights of sexual minorities and advanced the principle of equality. This case illustrates how PIL can empower citizens and drive a nationwide social change.

Another landmark example is Meera Kumari Dhungana v His Majesty’s Government [NKP 2052, Issue 6, Decision No 6013] which addressed gender equality in inheritance rights. The SC issued a directive to the government to draft and present a bill to Parliament ensuring equal rights for women to parental property.

Similarly, Surya Prasad Dhungel v Godavari Marble Industries highlighted the connection between the right to life and the right to a clean and healthy environment, reinforcing environmental protection as a constitutional concern. Environmental conservation was one of the objectives of the applicant, so the applicant had locus standi for the prevention of the environmental degradation, ruled the court.

These cases illustrate how PILs have become a powerful instrument for promoting justice, equality, and environmental sustainability in Nepal.

In Advocate Radhey Shyam Adhikari v Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and Others (NKP 2048, Decision Number 4430), the SC held that Petitioners need to have meaningful relations and substantial interest in the subject matter to file a PIL.

Global precedent

The first notable PIL case in India was Hussainara Khatoon v State of Bihar (1979), which highlighted the inhumane conditions in prisons and resulted in the release of over 40,000 undertrial prisoners, establishing the right to speedy justice as a fundamental right.

Gideon v Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963), is a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court that significantly expanded the right to legal representation and is often cited in discussions of public interest litigation and access to justice. The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Gideon's favor, holding that: “The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to legal counsel, and this right is fundamental and essential to a fair trial. Therefore, states are required under the Fourteenth Amendment to provide an attorney to defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford one.”

Professor Abram Chayes coined the term “public law litigation” in the US context in 1976.

Way forward 

A PIL refers to a legal proceeding initiated in a court to protect or enforce the rights or interests of the public or a particular section of society. It involves matters where the public or a segment of the community has a legal interest that affects their rights or obligations. Unlike typical lawsuits, a PIL is not filed for personal gain but to seek justice on behalf of the public. It should not be misconstrued as “publicity interest litigation.” A PIL must genuinely serve the public interest, not private interests.

So, it is high time we adopt institutions and mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of court verdicts. Without such measures, judicial decisions risk becoming toothless and merely cosmetic. As a democracy, Nepal must uphold court rulings in both letter and spirit, for the state is founded on the rule of law and constitutionalism.

Nitika Chaudhary

BBA LLB 

Manmohan Technical University (MTU), Biratnagar

I remember when buying something new felt rare, almost sacred. My school bag was always pink, plastered with the cartoons I adored, and my stationery spilled colors across my desk, often the kind that dries out too quickly. My clothes were patterned, stripes, polka dots, florals, a quiet riot that made mornings feel brighter. Every object carried a story, a fragment of myself. They were companions, stitched into childhood, worn, polished, and used until their edges frayed with memory. Today, newness arrives differently. It drifts in like obligation, and the things we acquire rarely hold meaning for long.

For Nepali teenagers now, consumer culture weaves quietly through everyday life. It appears in uniform branded items, the ubiquity of fast fashion, and the never-ending cycle of upgraded electronics. Objects measure taste, belonging, and aspiration almost invisibly. But beneath this quiet rhythm lies a weightier truth. Self-worth and social approval are increasingly borrowed from things rather than earned through effort, creativity, or connection. What once held meaning through use or sentiment now exists mostly for perception and visibility.

The rhythm of consumption has shifted so subtly that it now dominates. Items that might have lasted years become outdated in weeks. What once inspired care is quickly replaced by the next trend, the next notification, the next fleeting pulse on a feed. Mass production floods the city with ephemeral whims and cheap imitations. Novelty no longer lingers. It flares briefly before being swallowed by the next must-have barely a heartbeat away.

The consequences of this constant churn are evident and worrying. Kathmandu valley’s streets layer with plastic wrappers, synthetic textiles, and discarded trinkets, a littered trace of desire. Landfills near Bhaktapur swell with abandoned items, while the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers carry chemical dyes and microplastics threading through daily life like invisible currents. Local crafts, Dhaka weaving, handloom textiles, and small pottery studios strain under imported goods, centuries-old traditions teetering toward obsolescence. Every purchase connects Kathmandu to distant factories where labor is exploited and environmental safeguards are minimal. Consumption’s true cost is never measured in rupees alone. It is etched into land, air, rivers, and communities.

Mass consumerism is reshaping Nepal’s social and ecological landscape in subtle, alarming ways. Forests and raw materials are harvested without thought for renewal. Rivers carry traces of production, microplastics coursing like uninvited shadows. Even the air feels heavier, burdened by the invisible toll of ceaseless manufacture, transport, and disposal. What was once a slow rhythm of care has become a torrent, pulling both objects and people toward fleeting value.

The psychological impact is equally stark. Social media amplifies comparison, turning possessions into metrics and consumption into performance. Teens find themselves caught in a race. They are not merely trying to own, but to signal ownership, to broadcast relevance, to maintain an endless cycle of validation. Functional items and once-treasured possessions mutate into temporary measures of identity. The connections between acquisition and its social, environmental, and labor costs remain hidden, leaving a footprint that is deep, pervasive, and largely invisible.

Yet consumer culture is not rigid. Objects can foster creativity, connection, and reflection when approached with intention. Items can be shared, repurposed, or treated with care. Electronics can become instruments of learning instead of tools of comparison. Incremental, deliberate choices, though small, ripple outward, reshaping the rhythm of consumption. They show that mindfulness can reclaim value from a society trained to discard. Even subtle, everyday decisions carry weight, transforming consumption into something slower, more intentional, and more meaningful. Nepal’s urban landscape reflects both the weight of the problem and the potential for change. 

Streets crowded with imported goods testify to relentless consumption, yet the city also holds quiet resistance. People make choices that favor care over speed, thought over novelty. Alone, these gestures might seem insignificant, but collectively they reshape the rhythm of buying, valuing, and reusing. A culture of discard is not inevitable. Every intentional choice becomes a small act of rebellion, a pause in the relentless cycle. 

The lesson is simple yet profound. Trends fade, but consequences endure. Shoes carry us across crowded streets, makeup bears experiments in identity, backpacks hold our belongings, and phones archive our memories. Yet the earth carries the hidden weight of manufacture, transport, and disposal. The choices we make today, how we acquire, reuse, and assign value, will shape the rivers, streets, and air of Kathmandu and Lalitpur tomorrow.

When the shimmer of novelty fades, what endures is not the object but the life lived with it, the connections nurtured, and the culture preserved. Consumerism can be seductive, but it need not define us. Slowing down, choosing intentionally, and imagining a future beyond endless production may be the most transformative trend we adopt. The care we show for the environment, those around us, and the heritage we inherit, along with small, deliberate choices before the next must-have arrives, will shape the Nepal we leave behind. And in the quiet that follows every purchase, a question lingers. Are we defining ourselves through accumulation, or through the presence, care, and attention we bring to the world around us?

Soniva Vaidya 

Grade XII

The British School, Kathmandu

Kidzee preschools across Nepal held a nationwide Walkathon on Nov 22, promoting the theme “Walk for Play, Not Screens.” Preschoolers, parents, and teachers participated across Kathmandu and major cities including Chitwan, Biratnagar, Janakpur, and Birgunj, celebrating active childhood and family togetherness.

Just two days earlier, Kidzee Nepal announced former national cricket captain and CAN Secretary Paras Khadka as its new Brand Ambassador. He highlighted the value of real-world experiences over screen time.

Parents praised the initiative for encouraging children to be active and learn beyond classrooms. Filled with joy and community spirit, the Walkathon served as a reminder of the importance of outdoor play and meaningful family moments.