Article 140: Appointment and qualification of Chief Judge and Judges of the High Court

1) The Chief Justice shall, on recommendation of the Judicial Council, appoint the Chief Judge and Judges of the High Court.

2) Any citizen of Nepal who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and served as a Judge of a District Court for at least five years or who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and constantly practiced law as a senior advocate or advocate for at least ten years or who has constantly been engaged in the teaching or research of law or in any other field relation to law or justice for at least ten years or who has served in the post of at least Gazetted first class of the Judicial Service for at least five years shall be deemed qualified for appointment as the Chief Judge or a Judge of the High Court.

3) Appointments to the Chief Judge and Judges of a High Court shall be made from amongst the persons who have possessed the qualification under clause (2) on the basis of the proportion of cases settled by him or her annually and of evaluation of cases upheld, quashed or reversed by superior courts in the course of final decision thereof, in the case of a District Judge, and of his or her seniority, qualification and evaluation of standard of performance of business, in the case of a person who has served in the post of at least Gazetted first class of the Judicial Service, and of evaluation of seniority, professional continuity, honesty, professional conduct and contribution made to the field of law and justice, in the case of others.

4) If the office of the Chief Judge falls vacant or the Chief Judge is otherwise unable to carry out the duties of his or her office or cannot be present in the High Court by reason of a leave of absence or his or her being outside of the State, the senior-most Judge of the High Court shall act as the Acting Chief Judge.