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Nepal’s first Constituent Assembly (CA) was dissolved without promulgating a Constitution for the country. It was evident by April 2012 that the contentious issue for the CA was the failure to arrive at a consensus on the basis of state formation and number of states. The elections for the CA were successfully held again in November 2013. An on-going discussion with Members of Parliament and the CA Secretariat has shown that an informed debate on the nature of federalism itself is necessary before the next draft constitution is made.

It is most critical for political parties, bureaucracy, officials, academics and lawyers to acquaint themselves on various types of federalism, layers of governance under federal states, centre-state relations, etc. The crucial issue is of fiscal relations between the centre and the state(s), and comparative assessment, experience sharing of other countries, and suggestions offered to the CA.

In this regard, the Rule of Law Programme Asia in co-operation with the Centre for South Asian Studies has organized a seminar of German experts to share the experience of Germany and draw out similar strategies for Nepal.