Over three thousand lawyers from across the country have called upon His Majesty King Gyanendra to dissolve the council of ministers terming it as “unconstitutional” in the wake of the recent Supreme Court verdict.

HM the King chairs the council of ministers himself.

While ordering to dissolve the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) last month, the apex court had held that the state power and sovereignty of Nepal lies with the Nepali people. “In this context, the NBA is concerned at the continuation of the council of ministers (led by the King) and demands its immediate dissolution,” said a resolution adopted by the tenth All Nepal Lawyers’ Conference on Saturday.

The “Golden Jubilee Declaration” adopted by the conference also held that the political way out to the country would be possible by holding elections to the constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. “For this, the dissolved parliament should be reinstated or an all-party government be formed on the basis of political consensus among all sides,” the declaration said.

The conference also condemned what it called the government’s ‘autocratic’ act of imposing ban on peaceful assembly, mass meetings etc. and detaining political leaders, workers, human rights and civil society activists.

The conference denounced the government’s decision to allow the Royal Nepalese Army to operate FM radio stations, asked the government to take initiative for the dignified and early repatriation of the Bhutanese refugees and publicise the whereabouts of the people reported as disappeared from the government custody.

The Conference called upon both the government and (CPN) Maoist to declare ceasefire without further delay and work towards restoring sustainable peace and end violence, murder and an environment of terror through dialogue and negotiations.

The Conference also called the government to stop the practice of amending existing laws and issuing ordinances against the spirit of the constitution. The Conference dismissed the municipal polls held last month saying that it did not have any legal basis.

The conference adopted a resolution put forward by the Kathmandu Bar Association demanding that the US government close down its detention center at the Guantanamo Bay. The conference also demanded that quota free and duty free access be awarded to products manufactured in the Least Developed Countries including Nepal.

During the four-day conference, delegates said they will continue to fight to uphold country’s constitution and rule of law. They recalled that the fourth All Nepal National Lawyers’ Conference had called for the end of the then partyless Panchayat polity and that the lawyers had played an important role in the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990.