NEB Class 12 · Past paper
The complete NEB Class 12 2082 exam paper for Nepali Legal System, all 13 questions with solved model answers.
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What type of legal system is called the religious legal system? Write down any three features of it. / कस्तो प्रकारको कानुन प्रणालीलाई धार्मिक कानुन प्रणाली भनिन्छ ? धार्मिक कानुन प्रणालीका कुनै तीन विशेषता छोटकरीमा उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् । [२+३]
A legal system is called a religious legal system when its law is drawn from divine revelation and sacred religious texts. It is not drawn from the will of the state. So religion and law are closely joined. The leading examples are three. Hindu law is based on the Shruti and Smriti. Islamic or Muslim law is based on the Quran, the Sunna, and juristic reasoning. And the canon law belongs to the Christian church.
Its main features include:
The first part names what a religious legal system is. Any three of the above features complete the 2+3 mark split. In Nepal this family left a deep mark. Hindu religious law long governed family and personal matters. The Muluki Civil Code 2074 now states that law in reformed, secular form. But its roots in the Hindu tradition remain visible.
Write any two sources of Hindu law. / हिन्दु कानुनका कुनै दुई स्रोतहरू लेख्नुहोस् ।
Two sources of Hindu law are Shruti and Smriti. Shruti (श्रुति) means the Vedas. It is held to be divine revelation and the highest authority. Smriti (स्मृति) means the Dharmashastras, such as the Manusmriti. It contains most of the actual rules on marriage, property and duty.
What is the meaning of justice in Hindu law? Write the concept of justice in Hindu jurisprudence. / हिन्दू कानूनमा न्यायको अर्थ के हो ? हिन्दु विधिशास्त्र अन्तर्गत न्यायको अवधारणा लेख्नुहोस् ।
In Hindu jurisprudence, justice is not a separate legal idea. It is the upholding of Dharma (धर्म). Dharma is the righteous order of duty. It governs both the universe and human society. To do justice is to see that every person performs their proper duty. It is also to see that every person receives their due. When wrongdoing disturbs the balance of Dharma, justice restores it. So justice here means the vindication of righteousness. It is not merely the application of a rule.
The duty of giving justice rested on the king (Raja). He was regarded as the guardian of Dharma. He was also its enforcer. He carried out this duty through Danda (दण्ड). Danda means lawful punishment, or the rod of authority. The science of just punishment was called Danda-niti. Punishment had to be measured and proportionate. It had to suit the gravity of the offence. It also had to suit the circumstances of the offender. The aim was to correct the wrong without becoming cruelty. For example, a serious wrong against the community called for a heavier Danda than a minor lapse. A king who punished too harshly fell short of Dharma. So did a king who punished too leniently.
One point is crucial. The king was not above the law. Dharma stood higher than the king himself. He was bound to rule and to judge in line with it. A king who punished unjustly himself incurred fault. This idea is important. It says that even the ruler is bound by a higher law. It points toward a modern principle, that the state too must act within the law. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 embodies that principle. So justice in Hindu thought joins the legal, the moral and the religious. It is the vindication of righteousness. In it the ruler is both the agent of justice and its servant. He is answerable to the eternal Dharma above him.
Write a short essay on the Dayabhaga school of Hindu law. / हिन्दु कानुन प्रणालीको स्कुल दयाभागाबारे छोटकरीमा निबन्ध लेख्नुहोस् ।
The Dayabhaga (दायभाग) is one of the two great schools of Hindu law. It takes its name from the digest written by Jimutavahana. It prevails in Bengal and Assam.
Its defining feature is about timing. It concerns the time at which a son gains a right in family property. In the Dayabhaga school, a son acquires no right in the property by birth. So long as the father is alive, the father is the sole owner. He may deal with the property as he wishes. The son inherits his share only on the death of the father. For example, under Dayabhaga a son cannot demand partition during his father's lifetime. Until then he has no vested interest to divide. This is the opposite of the Mitakshara position. Because there is no ownership by birth, there is no coparcenary during the father's life. There is also no right of survivorship in the Mitakshara sense. On a holder's death, the property passes by succession to his heirs. They then hold it as separate shares.
The governing principle of Dayabhaga inheritance is spiritual benefit (religious efficacy). The right to inherit follows the capacity to offer religious oblations (pinda) for the deceased. It does not follow mere nearness of blood. This principle also gave the widow a somewhat stronger position than she held under the rival school. In short, the Dayabhaga is the more individualistic of the two schools. It postpones the son's right until the father's death. It rests succession on religious ties rather than purely blood ties.
[1 mark] (short note) Dayabhaga (दायभाग) is a school of Hindu law founded on Jimutavahana's digest. It is followed in Bengal and Assam. Under it a son gets no right in family property by birth. He inherits only on the father's death. Succession is based on spiritual benefit (religious efficacy).
Write a short essay on the Mitakshara school of Hindu law. / हिन्दु कानुन प्रणालीको स्कुल मिताक्षराबारे छोटकरीमा निबन्ध लेख्नुहोस् ।
The Mitakshara (मिताक्षरा) is the larger and more widespread of the two schools of Hindu law. It is named after Vijnaneshwara's commentary on the Yajnavalkya Smriti. It prevails across almost the whole of the subcontinent, except Bengal and Assam.
Its central doctrine is about the son's right. A son acquires a right in the ancestral (joint family) property by birth. From the moment of birth, the son becomes a coparcener. A coparcener is a person who shares a right in the joint property. The son is a coparcener along with his father and the other male descendants. They all share a common interest in the joint property. The interest arises by birth. So a coparcener may in principle demand partition (अंशबण्डा) of his share even during the father's lifetime. This is the key practical difference from the Dayabhaga school. When a coparcener dies, his interest passes to the surviving coparceners. This is the rule of survivorship. It does not pass to his separate heirs. The Mitakshara thus rests inheritance on consanguinity, that is, on nearness of blood.
The Mitakshara is itself divided into sub-schools. These include the Banaras, Mithila, Maharashtra and Dravida sub-schools. They differ on minor points. The Mitakshara idea is especially important for Nepal. Nepali Hindu law historically followed the Mitakshara idea of the joint family. It also followed the idea of a son's share by birth. This is why coparcenary and partition have long stood at the centre of Nepali property law. A son's claim to a share of ancestral property descends directly from the Mitakshara doctrine. That claim is now carried forward and reformed in the Muluki Civil Code 2074.
[1 mark] (short note) Mitakshara (मिताक्षरा) is the main school of Hindu law. It is named after Vijnaneshwara's commentary on the Yajnavalkya Smriti. It is followed over most of the subcontinent. Under it a son acquires a share in ancestral property by birth as a coparcener. Inheritance is by survivorship, based on blood relationship.
Describe the laws of Kirat period. / किरातकालको कानूनको व्याख्या गर्नुहोस् ।
The Kirats are counted among the earliest rulers of the Kathmandu valley. The law of their period belongs firmly to Nepal's pre-codification era. The first point to make is simple. There was no written code at this time. Law was customary and unwritten. No Kirat statute survives. So our picture of it is pieced together from custom and from references in later sources. We cannot read it from a text today. This is why the period must be described carefully and in general terms.
The central source of norms in the Kirat period was the Mundhum (मुन्धुम). This was the oral scripture and tradition of the Kirat people. The Mundhum carried religious, moral and social teaching. This society had no written law. So these teachings also served as the standards of right conduct. Disputes were judged by them. Justice itself was community based. Quarrels over land, family and wrongdoing were settled by village elders and community heads. The elders applied accepted custom. They did not use a formal hierarchy of courts and judges, as Nepal has now. For example, suppose two households fell into a dispute over grazing land. The elders would hear both sides. They would work out a settlement that restored peace to the community. They would not impose a penalty from a written rulebook.
Several of these features proved durable. One is the treatment of custom and usage as a genuine source of law. This survived the Kirat period. It is still recognised in the present legal system. Today, long-settled custom not contrary to written law can be applied. Another durable feature is the tradition of settling disputes within the community, without formal litigation. This also continues. It is reflected today in community mediation. It is also reflected in the local-level judicial committees that resolve many small disputes close to where people live. The customary practices of indigenous communities are also recognised. In this sense, think of a modern local judicial committee. It settles a neighbourhood quarrel through mediation. It is doing something the Kirat elders would have recognised.
In short, the Kirat period did not leave Nepal a written code. But it left a tradition. That tradition was customary, Mundhum-guided and community-administered justice. Two parts of it lasted especially well. One is the acceptance of custom as a source of law. The other is the settling of disputes within the community. These are its lasting contribution to the legal system that Nepal uses today. This is true even though the country now rests that system on written codes and a written Constitution.
What legal provisions of the Kirat period are still in use in the present legal system of Nepal? / किरातकालका कानुनको कुन प्रावधानहरू नेपालको विद्यमान कानुन प्रणालीमा पनि प्रयोगमा छन् ?
The Kirat period left no written code. But some of its legal practices continue, in a changed form, in Nepal's present system:
So the Kirat legacy is not a set of surviving statutes. It is a surviving approach. That approach is reliance on custom and on community-led, reconciliation-minded dispute settlement. The modern law has absorbed it and given it an organised form.
Write any two provisions made under the influence of the socialist legal system. / सामाजिक कानुन प्रणालीको प्रभावमा बनेका कुनै दुई प्रावधानहरू उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् ।
Two provisions made under the socialist influence are these. First, the socio-economic fundamental rights in Part 3 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015, such as the right to employment and the right to social security. Second, the directive principles in Part 4 that commit Nepal to a "socialism-oriented" state working toward an equitable, exploitation-free society.
Critically analyse the influence of the Socialist Legal System over the Nepalese Legal System. / नेपालको कानुन प्रणालीमा समाजवादी कानुन प्रणालीको प्रभाव आलोचनात्मक विश्लेषण गर्नुहोस् ।
The socialist legal system has clearly influenced modern Nepali law. But the influence is one of direction and goals. It is not a wholesale change of the whole system.
The positive marks of this influence are easy to see. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 declares Nepal a "socialism-oriented" state. It does so in its preamble and in Article 4. Part 3 guarantees socio-economic rights. These are the rights to employment, education, health, housing, food and social security. They treat welfare as a legal entitlement and not as mere charity. For example, a citizen can point to the right to education as a constitutional claim rather than a favour. The directive principles in Part 4 push the state toward an equitable, exploitation-free society. Measures such as land reform and protective rights for women, Dalits and labourers carry the same spirit.
A critical view notes real limits. Nepal has not adopted the full socialist model. It keeps private property. It keeps a market economy. It keeps multiparty democracy, an independent judiciary and the rule of law. A classical socialist system would restrain all of these. Many of the socio-economic rights depend on the state's resources. They also depend on further laws to be fully enjoyed. So their promise can outrun their delivery. A right to housing, for instance, means little to a homeless person. It means little until the state has the means and the laws to make it real. The influence is therefore best described as selective and aspirational. It gives Nepali law a social-justice direction. At the same time it leaves the liberal-democratic and codified structure intact.
Write a letter to your friend mentioning the influence of the Hindu legal system over the Nepalese legal system. / नेपालको कानुनमा हिन्दु धार्मिक कानुन प्रणालीको प्रभाव उल्लेख गर्दै आफ्नो साथीलाई पत्र लेख्नुहोस् ।
Dear Sujan,
I hope this letter finds you well. You asked me a question. Now that I am studying law, how much of our Nepali law really comes from the Hindu tradition? The honest answer is: a great deal. This is true especially in family and property matters.
Our oldest codified law was the Muluki Ain of 1854. It was built largely on Hindu Dharmashastra and smriti. That caste-based, religious framework has been replaced. But much of its substance lives on. Think of our present Muluki Civil Code 2074. It deals with partition of ancestral property (अंशबण्डा). It deals with the share of sons in the joint family. It deals with inheritance, succession, marriage and adoption. All these are concepts that reached Nepal through Hindu law. The Code now applies them in a reformed and equality-based form.
Let me give you one concrete example. The idea that a son has a claim to a share in ancestral property comes straight from the Mitakshara coparcenary of Hindu law. A coparcenary is the group of family members who share a right in the family property by birth. But the present Code has reformed this idea. Now daughters too enjoy comparable rights. The old tradition denied them these rights. Even some court practice reflects this inheritance. For example, a mourner may be given time to finish death rituals (काजकिरिया) before a deadline.
What is important, I think, is this. The modern law keeps the useful core of these ideas. But it removes their discriminatory parts. So our system is rooted in tradition. Yet it is secular and equal in its present shape under the Constitution of Nepal 2015. Do write back with your own thoughts.
Your friend, Anita
Write in two sentences about the Nepal Bar Council. / नेपाल कानुन व्यवसायी परिषद्को बारेमा दुई वाक्यमा लेख्नुहोस् ।
The Nepal Bar Council is the official body that regulates the legal profession in Nepal. It was established under the Nepal Bar Council Act 1993 (2050 BS). Its main features and functions are as follows.
The Council is different from the Nepal Bar Association. The Association is the lawyers' own representative and professional body. It is not the statutory regulator. Through these functions, the Council keeps the profession competent, disciplined and accountable to the public. This is essential because lawyers handle people's rights, liberty and property.
Why is a code of conduct for lawyers necessary? / कानुन व्यवसायीको लागि आचारसंहिता किन आवश्यक हुन्छ ?
A code of conduct is the set of ethical and professional rules binding on every legal practitioner. It is framed and enforced by the Nepal Bar Council. It is necessary for several connected reasons.
Here is an example. Suppose an advocate revealed a client's confidential information to the opposing party. The code is what makes that a punishable breach, not just a discourtesy. Without such a code, the trust on which the justice system depends would collapse. That is why it is treated as essential, not optional.
Why are lawyers called social engineers? (Or: why do lawyers wear black coats?) / कानुन व्यवसायीलाई किन सामाजिक अभियन्ता भनिन्छ ? (अथवा कानुन व्यावसायीले किन कालो कोट लगाउँछन् ?)
(a) Why lawyers are called social engineers. The idea of the lawyer as a "social engineer" comes from the jurist Roscoe Pound. He saw law as a means of balancing the many competing interests in society. The aim is to serve the greatest good with the least friction. Think of what an engineer does. An engineer builds and repairs structures. In the same way, a lawyer helps build and repair the social order. A lawyer does this by resolving disputes peacefully. A lawyer does this by protecting people's rights. A lawyer does this by using the law to correct injustice. And a lawyer does this by pushing reform through the courts and the legislature. For example, a lawyer may file a public interest case to stop pollution. Or a lawyer may file a case to protect the rights of a disadvantaged group. In effect, that lawyer is repairing a fault in the social structure. In Nepal, lawyers have played exactly this role. They have advanced constitutional rights, public interest litigation and social justice. Their work shapes and improves how society functions. So lawyers are rightly called social engineers, agents of ordered social change.
(b) Why lawyers wear black coats (alternative). The black coat is the traditional dress of the legal profession. It came through the common law bar and is now a worldwide symbol. Black is worn for a few reasons. It stands for dignity, discipline and seriousness. It signals submission to the authority of the law and of justice, not to the individual. And a common dark uniform marks out the lawyer's identity. It also puts all lawyers on an equal footing before the court. For example, an advocate may be junior or senior. The same black coat places them both within one disciplined profession. So the black coat is a symbol of the profession's values, not a legal requirement.