Population Law(594)/BALLB/Vth Year

Table of Contents

Unit I: Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Meaning and Definition of Population Law .................................................................................................. 4
Population and Law ................................................................................................................................... 4
Population Law .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Nature of Population Law .......................................................................................................................... 6
Scope and Contents of Population Law ......................................................................................................... 7
Demography of Nepal .................................................................................................................................... 8
Importance of Population Law....................................................................................................................... 8
Unit II: Census Law ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Census Defined: ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Vital registration .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Unit III: Basic Demographic Components and Law Related there to ............................................................... 12
Laws on Citizenship..................................................................................................................................... 12
Laws relating to Registration of births and deaths ....................................................................................... 12
Concept of Migration & mobility ................................................................................................................ 13
Types of Migration .................................................................................................................................. 13
Causes and consequences of Migration ................................................................................................... 13
Factors on the decision to migrate and the process of migration ............................................................. 14
(Everett S. Lee's theory of Migration) ..................................................................................................... 14
Lee's hypotheses on migration: ................................................................................................................ 14
Free border and Treaty of Peace and Friendship with India .................................................................... 14
(ps. refer to the attachment) ..................................................................................................................... 14
Consequences of migration ...................................................................................................................... 14
Unit IV: Family Law and Population ................................................................................................................. 16
(See the chapters of Family law 4th year paper) .......................................................................................... 16
Law on Marriage .......................................................................................................................................... 16
Joint Family and Population ........................................................................................................................ 16
Adoption Law .............................................................................................................................................. 16

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 Unit V: Major Factors that are Directly Related to Population (Urbanization) ............................................... 17
Urbanization and Population Growth .......................................................................................................... 17
Urbanization............................................................................................................................................. 17
Religion and Population Growth.................................................................................................................. 18
Culture and Population Growth ................................................................................................................... 18
Unit VI: Population and Human Rights Issues.................................................................................................. 19
Concept of Human Rights and its Correlation with Population ................................................................... 19
Correlation of Human Rights with Population ............................................................................................ 20
Women's Reproductive Right (including fertility) as a Fundamental Right ................................................ 20
Right to Basic Health Service as a Fundamental Right ............................................................................... 21
Constitutional provision (2072): .............................................................................................................. 21
Child Rights ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Constitutional provision (2072): Article 39 ............................................................................................. 21
Balbalika sambandhi ain 2048 (Child -> under 16 years age) ................................................................. 22
UNCRC 1989 ........................................................................................................................................... 22
Equality and Gender Discriminations .......................................................................................................... 23
Unit VII: Offences Related to Reproductive Health ......................................................................................... 24
Reproductive Health .................................................................................................................................... 24
Reproductive rights .................................................................................................................................. 24
Infanticide defined: ...................................................................................................................................... 24
Rape defined: ............................................................................................................................................... 25
Bigamy defined: ........................................................................................................................................... 25
Incest defined: .............................................................................................................................................. 26
Prostitution defined: ..................................................................................................................................... 26
Homosexuality defined: ............................................................................................................................... 26
Law relating to religion and its impact on fertility ...................................................................................... 27
Punishment................................................................................................................................................... 27
Unit VIII: Institutional Arrangement for Population Management.................................................................. 28
Central Bureau of Statistics ......................................................................................................................... 28
Objectives ................................................................................................................................................ 28
Main Functions ........................................................................................................................................ 28
Ministry of Population and its Functions ..................................................................................................... 29
Roles and Responsibilities of Ministry of Health and Population : ......................................................... 29

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 Questions ......................................................................................................................................................... 31

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 Unit I: Introduction

Meaning and Definition of Population Law

Population and Law

Population

 the total number of people living in a particular area or region or a country in a specified time or
a time period. For instance, the population of Nepal as of 2011 census is 26494504 (CBS, 2011).

 all the people living in a particular country, area, or place. For instance, ten
percent of the population lived in poverty (Cambridge English Dictionary).

Law

 a rule, usually made by a government, that is used to order the way in which a society behaves:
For instance: there are laws against drinking in the street (Cambridge English Dictionary).

 the system of rules of a particular country, group, or area of activity: For instance, the judge
ruled that the directors had knowingly broken the law. It was a detailed study of international
human rights law.

Demography

Two Greek letters: Demos- People and Graphien- to study/ to draw, i.e. the word 'demography'
means to make a detailed study of human population.

Mostly, it is the quantitative study of population with respect to the size, structure, growth and
distribution of human population.

The term 'Demography' was first used by Achille Guillard, Belgian Statistician, in 1855 in his book,
'Elements de statistique humaine, ou demographie comparee'.

John Graunt, also known as 'the Father of Demography', made the extensive use of the term
'Demography' by developing life table, made statistical analysis of mortality data, discovered the
fact that the sex ratio of males is greater than that of the females while the mortality rate is
greater for males, developed his expertise in epidemiology and public health, which was
extremely new to his time.

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 Formal Demography: Deals with the quantitative aspects of population and is simply referred to as
Demography.

Social Demography: Quantitative as well as the qualitative aspects of population are dealt with and
referred to as Population Studies.

So, Demography and Population Studies are different in content, however, these terms are
expressed synonymously.

Formal Demography/Demography Social Demography/ Population Studies

  studies population related aspects with

views population related aspects with
narrow sense as synonyms with broad sense as population studies
demographic analysis
 study is broadly based on both quantitative
 study is confined within the quantitative and qualitative aspects of population
aspects of population only
 deals with the size, structure, growth and
 mainly deals with the analysis of the size, distribution as well as the social economic,
structure, growth and distribution of human biological, geographic, political, genetic
population and many other aspects of population

Demographic Components, Processes and Measures (Please refer to the Population Hand Book of
PRB for this)

Components: Birth, Death and Migration;

Processes: Fertility, Mortality and Migration and

Measures: Fertility rates, Mortality rates and Migration rates

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 Population Law
Every country has its own legislative norms, legal systems and legal structures. The nature and the
scope of population law is determined by the nature of population structure, size, growth rate as
well as its distribution. So, the typology of population is contextual and differs accordingly. The
legal provision for the management of the size, structure, growth and distribution of population of a
place, a specific territory, a region or a country can be considered as population law. Therefore, one
can associate population law with a number of demographic variables such as birth, death,
migration, marriage, food, health and hygiene, urbanization and housing, public health and
sanitation, education, employment and so on.

The legal provisions on population law attempt to solve the population related problems as the
issues of over and under population. Chandrasekhar Sripati (1976)1 has defined population law as,
'that body of law, which relates directly, or indirectly to the three basic demographic variables of
fertility, mortality and migration and their various components, which in turn affect the more
general problems of the size, growth and distribution of the population' and further mentions that
the relation of population law could be with, 'public health and sanitation; food preparation and sale,
distribution and sale; drugs and pharmaceuticals; clinics, hospitals and medical personnel; marriage,
migration, fertility, child care and all aspects of education and the role and status of women'.

Jayasuriya (1979) in Legal Dimensions of Population Dynamics: Perspectives from Asian Countries
gives the conceptual definition of population law as, 'the body of laws and regulations which has a
bearing on population dynamics by regulating the demographic components and by inducing
behavioural and attitudinal changes among people to promote their quality of lives both at micro
and macro levels.

Nature of Population Law

Population law can be considered as a legislative tool of managing population which is an aggregate
of the informal social norms developed in the societies and the formal legal provisions that have
been established in the country.

The nature of population law has been influenced by and differs with respect to the culture,
religious aspects as well as the national interests of each and every country. For instance, the
legislations on population in Nepal have impressions of Hinduism while in Pakistan and Arabian

1
Population and Law in India, Bombay: Blackie and Son (India) Limited, 1976, pp. 50-51.
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 countries, the Islamic rules dominate the population and other laws. Likewise, in China and Japan,
the national interest has been as important as the cultural aspects.

Scope and Contents of Population Law

There are a number of different aspects of population and law which have direct or indirect linkage
with population problems such as, fertility, mortality, internal and international migration, marriage
and marital complications, property rights and division of property, urbanization, industrialization,
and so on. These issues need to be addressed legislatively in such a way to resolve for human
welfare. So, each and every issue on population that necessitates to be dealt with can be regarded as
the scope of population law.

Human Rights issues in terms of reproductive rights -> from embryonic stage to adulthood -->> the
duties and responsibilities of parents not only for the growth, development and proper health of the
child but also for their education, safety, care and other amenities; state level responsibilities for
every child is equally important as the scope of population law.

Morris L. Cohen on National Law on Population -->>

 Laws Affecting Fertility

 Laws on Family Welfare
 Laws on Child Welfare
 Criminal Law
 Laws on Public Welfare
 Laws on Public Health
 Laws on Education
 Laws on Property and Economic Aspects
 Laws on Statistics, Armed service, Religion

Similarly, Edmund H. Kellog in his article, "Reform of Laws affecting Population Growth: Recent
Developments" in the Journal of International Law and Economics, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1975) published
by The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy has explained on the laws affecting fertility as:

 Laws on Contraception
 Voluntary Sterilization
 Pregnancy Termination
 Menstrual Regulation

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  Population and Sex Education
 Use of Professional Paramedical Personnel in Family Planning Programmes
 Status of Women
 Protection of Children
 Old Age and Illness Protection
 Other Social Welfare Laws and Incentives

So, the comprehensive scope of population law includes:

 birth registration, child care, paternal duties, juvenile rights, artificial fertilization, adoption
 marriage and marital disruption
 abortion, contraception and sterilization
 laws on sexual crimes and prison
 family allowances, residence allowance, maternity grants, old age pension
 property rights, rights to secrecy, laws on migration
 laws on health services and facilities, pharmaceutical production, sale, distribution, import
and export
 communicable and contagious diseases, nutritious food, hygienic environment
 free and compulsory education, education to adults and women
 health education, sex education and marriage counselling
 legal aspects of tax system and property management
 statistical act, general code and others

International laws:

The universal declaration of human rights 1948; The universal declaration on social progress and
development 1969; SAARC Charter, The UN decisions and declarations on family planning and on
the rights of women, children and differently abled people.

Demography of Nepal
From Population Monograph/s of Nepal 2014, study the 'Executive Summary'.

Importance of Population Law

As the nature of Population Law is wide and comprehensive, it is important in various dimensions
of population management i.e. human living. The major issues that Population law addresses to
reflect its importance are listed as:
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  Knowledge on the use and importance of vital registration system
 Management of population/ awareness among people on population management
 Legal and feasible solutions to population problems
 Refinement in the population data
 Proper application of population data (from census, surveys and vital registration system -
VRS)
 Improvement in the indicators of Population Dynamics
 Reforms in social taboos and customs
 Solution to population problems

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 Unit II: Census Law

Census Defined:
Derived from a Latin word 'Censere' meaning Value or Tax. In the ancient times the population
appropriate for the tax, labour and armed force was enumerated and it ended up being a form of
census later on.

Definition of Modern Census: A Census of Population is the total process of collecting, compiling,
evaluating, analyzing and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a
specified time to all persons in a country or delimited territory.

Features of a census:

 every individual is counted at once only

 covers a well defined territory or the whole country
 based on a pre-determined reference period
 conducted at certain interval: 10 years or 5 years

Census Techniques:

1. Defacto method
 count the people where they are found
 one night enumeration system
 popular in developed countries
2. Dejure method
 count the people in their usual residence/proper residence
 period enumeration system
 applicable in developing countries

Law relating to census, survey and vital registration: Please refer to the Census Act 2009.

Vital registration
Vital events refer to the major demographic events that occur in human life such as: birth; death;
marriage; divorce and migration.

Definition by the UN: 'A Vital Registration System can be defined as including the legal
registration, statistical recording and reporting of the occurrence of, and the collection, compilation,
analysis, presentation and distribution of statistics pertaining to vital events, which in turn include

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 live births, deaths, foetal deaths, marriages, divorces, adoptions, legitimations, recognitions,
annulments and legal separation' (UN 1955).

Vital registration: registration of vital events at the office of the local registrar

For the legislative aspects in Nepalese context, please refer to (जन्म, मत्ृ यु, तथा अन्य व्यक्ततगत
घटना (दताा गने) ननयमावली, २०३४

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 Unit III: Basic Demographic Components and Law Related there to

Laws on Citizenship
Give a definition of Citizenship
Types of Citizenships:

refer to citizenship act 2020; amendment of 2064; constitutional provision of 2019; 2047;
2064 and 2072;

Laws relating to Registration of births and deaths

vital events registration act 2033 and Rules 2034

Laws relating to Registration of births and deaths (for Unit II, III)

Vital events registration act 2033 and Rules 2034

Vital Information collection Information registration Certificate issuance
SN events
Annex Annex Annex
registers the information on the

sought by the informant in the

information the local registrar

the corresponding vital event.

The local registrar issues the

Register as per the Annex of
Annex of the corresponding

Annex of the corresponding

prescribed format as per the
certificate of the vital event
1 Birth 2 7 12
prescribed form as per the

After receiving necessary

vital event at the local
Informant fills up the

2 Death 3 8 13
registrar's office.

3 Marriage 4 9 14

vital event.
4 Divorce 5 10 15

5 Migration 6 11 16

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 Concept of Migration & mobility
Migration:

 permanent or semi-permanent change of residence

 a form of geographical mobility or spatial mobility between one geographical unit and
another, generally involving a change in residence from the place of origin or place of
departure to the place of destination or place of arrival. Such migration is called permanent
migration and should be distinguished from other forms of movement which do not involve
a permanent change of residence." (The UN Multilingual Demographic Dictionary)
 Immigration and Emigration refer to movement into and out of a country or a territory
respectively and specially related with respect to the international migration.
 In-migration and out-migration refer to movement into a particular area within the country
and movement out of a particular area within the same country respectively and specially
concerned with internal migration.

Types of Migration
Permanent: if a migrant has been residing in the place of destination for five years or more after
migrating to the current place. Simply. permanent migrants are those who do not return to their
place of origin.

Semi-permanent: if a migrant has been residing in the place of destination for more than one year
but less than five years after migrating to the current place.

Temporary: if a migrant has been residing in the place of destination for less than a year after
migrating to the current place.

Seasonal: if a migrant has been residing in the place of destination for at most six months but not
exceeding two times a year after migrating to the current place. This type of migratory movement of
people is generally to keep themselves away from various climatic adversities, annual or seasonal
crop harvesting and so on.

Causes and consequences of Migration

Ravenstein on 'The Laws on Migration':

 Migration and Distance

 Migration by stages
 Stream and Counter-stream
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  Urban-rural differences in propensity to migrate
 Pre-dominance of females among short distance migrants
 Technology and Migration
 Dominance of the Economic motive

Factors on the decision to migrate and the process of migration

(Everett S. Lee's theory of Migration)

a) Factors associated with the area of origin

b) Factors associated with the area of destination

c) Intervening obstacles

d) Personal factors

Lee's hypotheses on migration:

Volume of Migration:

Streams and Counter-streams of Migration:

Characteristics of Migrants:

Free border and Treaty of Peace and Friendship with India

(ps. refer to the attachment)

Consequences of migration
Migration leaves both positive as well as negative impacts or consequences on both the place of
origin and the place of destination.
A. Consequences on the place of origin:
Positive consequences:
 Returnee migrants have chances to contribute for the development of their place of origin
 Diaspora of the place of origin may get organized for the uplifting of the area
 Chances of the local resources being not exploited
Negative consequences:
𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒 𝑛′𝑠 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 +𝐸𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
 increase in dependency ratio [ ×100]
𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
 increase in man-land ratio
 decline in economically active population
 lack of leadership for socio-economic development
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  low chances for the local development
 loss of local resources due to being unused for a long time
 lack of resource conservation and management
B. Consequences on the place of destination:
Positive consequences:
 formation of a new and developed society
 opportunities for intellectual development
 access to land, housing, and services such as health, education, communication, electricity,
 adequate access to food and nutrition
 access to employment opportunities for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled human resources
Negative Consequences:
 increase in urban poverty
 unmanaged urban slums
 Human Security problems: emergence of social disorders, crimes and many other urban
problems; problems of food and nutrition security

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 Unit IV: Family Law and Population

(See the chapters of Family law 4th year paper)

Law on Marriage
(See Part 3/Chapter 1-4 of The Muluki Devani Samhita Ain 2074), Family Law

Joint Family and Population

Types of families:
With reference to the demographic context, the family in Nepal has been categorised into two types.

Nuclear family:
The family that consists of the parents and their unmarried children. This type of family system is
mostly prevalent in the urban areas. This type of family reflects the economic development of the
communities having such families. Non-agricultural occupational groups have nuclear families as
the parents are busy in certain economic activities. This type of family is the symbol of low level of
fertility as the couples have a very few children.

Joint family:
The family that consists of the parents and their married and unmarried children. This type of family
system is mostly prevalent in the rural areas. This type of family reflects the poor economic
development of the communities with people engaged in non-agricultural occupations. Children are
perceived as economic assistants. Children can have cultural transformation through their
grandparents. This type of family is the symbol of higher level of fertility as the couples usually
have many children, which leads to have higher fertility and rapid population growth.

Adoption Law
(See Part 3/Chapter 8 and 9 of The Muluki Devani Samhita Ain 2074), Family Law

Also see (वववाह दताा ऐन-२०२८)

Minimum Age: 18 years with the consent of the guardian and 20 years in case of the absence of the
consent of the guardian

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 Unit V: Major Factors that are Directly Related to Population (Urbanization)

Urbanization and Population Growth

Urbanization
 indicates the level of population concentration in an urban area and the tempo of change in
population concentration (Bhende and Kanitkar 2001: 397)
 a process of population concentration which incorporates two elements: i) the multiplication
of points of concentration and ii) the increase in the size of individual concentration (Hope
Tisdale Eldridge 1956: 338-343)
 integrally connected to the three pillars of Sustainable Development: economic
development, social development and environmental development
 impacts (from historical global evidences): greater geographic mobility, lower fertility,
longer life expectancy and population ageing
 urban living is associated with higher levels of literacy and education, better health, greater
access to social services and enhanced opportunities for cultural and political participation
 improves economic prospects
 promotes the quality of life of people

Nevertheless,

 unplanned urbanization threatens Sustainable Development

 inadequately managed urban expansion leads to rapid sprawl, pollution and environmental
degradation as well as unsustainable production and consumption patterns (UN 2014)
 urban unemployment increases
 excessive exploitation of natural resources
 social problems: breakdown of the joint family, increased crimes, vandalism and so on

Urbanization is an unstoppable phenomenon. So, the challenges generated by urbanization need to

be addressed in such a way that the urban dwellers can contribute to its development rather than
concentrating on avoiding people from the cities (UN, 2009).

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 Religion and Population Growth
 Religious fundamentalists influence the level of fertility
 Religious attachment have impacts of the contraceptive prevalence rate of the currently
married population
 Population growth differentials are governed by the degree of religious intensity
 Religious switching also influences the level of fertility
 Young population is more prone to religious switching ( or to unaffiliated category) as
compared to the older generation

Culture and Population Growth

 Cultural affiliation have some influence on the status of population growth
 Cultural tradition also hinders population management and development
 Cultural taboos are the major factors that lead population to grow a rapid way

References

Bhende, A. and Tara Kanitkar (2001) Principles of Population Studies Himalaya Publishing House,
Mumbai.

Hope Tisdale Eldridge (1956) "The Process of Urbanization" in J.J. Spengler and O.D. Duncan
(Eds.) Demographic Analysis, Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press, pp: 338-343.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World
Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352).

UN (2009) The UN Background Document Joint meeting of the Executive Boards of

UNDP/UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP 23 and 26 January, 2009.

UN (1955) Handbook of Vital Statistics Methods. United Nations.

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 Unit VI: Population and Human Rights Issues

Concept of Human Rights and its Correlation with Population

Human rights: Human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. These are moral claims that
are inalienable and inherent in all individual by virtue of their humanity alone, irrespective of
caste, colour, creed and the place of birth, sex, cultural difference or any other consideration.
These claims are considered to be human rights. Human rights are sometimes referred to as
fundamental rights, basic rights, inherent rights, natural rights and birth rights.
"rights derived from the inherent dignity of the human person" - The Universal Declaration of
the Human Rights (UDHR) - 1948
Human rights are ...
 founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each person
 universal
 inalienable
 indivisible, interrelated and interdependent
 irrecoverable
 necessary for the fulfilment of the purpose of life
 never absolute
 dynamic

Human rights classified:

 Civil human rights

 Political human rights
 Economic human rights
 Social and cultural human rights
 Development oriented human rights

These rights are more precisely classified into three broad categories as:

 The first generation of Human Rights or Liberty oriented Human Rights (Blue Rights): the
provision, protection and guaranteeing of liberty to an individual against the State and its
agencies
 The second generation of Human Rights or Security oriented Human Rights (Red Rights):
dignity of personhood; full and free development of human personality

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  The third generation of Human Rights or Development oriented Human Rights (Green
Rights): all round human development; environmental rights

Correlation of Human Rights with Population

As human rights are fundamental rights of a human being, these are an essential components for the
management of population through one's family management. the following points can be
considered relevant to show a positive correlation between human rights and population.

 human rights fulfil the purpose of human life: continuation of generation to maintain human
existence
 right to make decisions regarding marriage and marital life
 decision making rights regarding the number, spacing and timing of child bearing
 maternal and child health rights against mortality and morbidity
 family planning and family management

Women's Reproductive Right (including fertility) as a Fundamental Right

International Conference on Population and Development ICPD Programme of Action (PoA)
states that (Para 7.3):
"Reproductive rights embrace certain human rights that are already recognized in national laws,
international human rights documents and other consensus documents. These rights rest on the
recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the
number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so,
and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. It also includes
their right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and
violence, as expressed in human rights documents."
 The Right to Life
 The Right to liberty and security of person
 The right to health, including sexual and reproductive health
 The right to decide the number and spacing of children
 The right to consent to marriage and to equality in marriage
 The right to privacy
 The right to equality and non-discrimination
 The right to be free from practices that harm women and girls

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  The right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment
 The right to be free from sexual and gender based violence
 The right to access sexual and reproductive health education and family planning
information
 The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress

Right to Basic Health Service as a Fundamental Right

Constitutional provision (2072):

 every citizen has the right to free basic health services from the state and no one shall
be exempted from emergency health service
 right to have information on one's treatment procedures
 equal access to health services
 access to safe drinking water and sanitation

Child Rights

Constitutional provision (2072): Article 39

 identity rights;
 rights to education, health, care and nutrition, sports, entertainment as well as overall
development;
 rights to elementary child development and child participation
 no child shall be employed in factories, mines or such risk prone jobs
 no child shall be subjected to child marriage, illegal trafficking, kidnapping or being
held hostage
 no child shall be subjected to physical, mental or any form of torture at all
 no child shall be employed in armed forces and other activities that harm their
mental, physical, reproductive or other rights
 every child has right to child friendly justice system
 helpless, orphan, differently abled children, conflict affected, displaced or children at
risk shall have right to special protection and provision of facilities by the state

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 Balbalika sambandhi ain 2048 (Child -> under 16 years age)
 for the protection of children's rights, their physical, mental and intellectual
development
 Children's rights: nomenclature and maintaining birth date; nourishment, education
and entertainment of a child
 no discrimination of own or adopted children on the basis of gender or other issues
 no cruel or such behaviour by parents, teachers, guardians or other members of the
family
 children's welfare scheme and provision of children's welfare homes for abandoned
children
 provision of children's improvement shelters (for those having some sorts of
problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism and so on)
 orphanage and centre for differently abled children

UNCRC 1989
 Definition of a child: person below the age of 18 years
 right to survival and development; registration, name, nationality and care;
preservation of identity
 freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion; freedom of association
 right to privacy; access to information and mass media
 non discrimination against their race, religion or abilities
 decisions (adults') towards best interests of the children -> esp. on budget, policy and
lawmaking
 protection of children's rights: government's responsibility that their rights are
respected, protected and fulfilled -> on their social services, legal, health and
educational systems
 protection from all forms of violence; special protection, care, adoption and support
for refugee children, deprived of family environment, with disabilities, child labour,
drug abuse, sexual exploitation
 health and health services, review of treatment in care,
 social security of children in need -> from government; right to education
 children of minorities/indigenous groups have right to learn their own culture,
language and religion
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  right to leisure, play and culture
 right against detention and punishment; war and armed conflict
 rehabilitation of child victims; right to juvenile justice
 respect for superior national standards; right to have knowledge of rights

Equality and Gender Discriminations

Constitutional provision: Article 18 & 38
 every citizen is equal by law and no one shall be deprived of equal protection by law
 no one shall be discriminated on the basis of origin, culture, religion or creed as such
 every woman has without gender discrimination right to equal inheritance
 every woman has right to safe motherhood and reproductive health
 no woman shall be treated or exploited with physical, mental, sexual, psychological or
such violence against her religious, social, cultural traditions or rituals as such

equal property rights

women friendly laws

equitable justice to women

national women commission

existing legal provision of domestic violence

partition rights during divorce (after she files the case)

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 Unit VII: Offences Related to Reproductive Health

1. Reproductive Health related offences and its impact on fertility (Infanticide, Rape, Bigamy,
Incest, Adultery, Prostitution, Homosexuality, Third Sex)

Reproductive Health
 a state of complete mental, physical and social well being, but not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and
processes.
 ensures satisfying and safe sex life;
 capacity to reproduce;
 freedom to decide if, when and how to do so;
 right to be informed of and access to affordable family planning methods
 safe pregnancy and child birth
 a live birth of a healthy infant
 a crucial part of general health and a central feature of human development

Reproductive rights
 basic human rights of all couples and individuals
 rights to have information and means to decide responsibly the number, spacing and timing
of their children
 rights to make decision on reproduction free from discrimination, coercion and violence

Infanticide defined:
 an act of killing of a newborn child.
 is usually committed by the parents or with their consent.
 also known as child destruction or neonaticide.
 In criminal law, infanticide is not considered a separate and distinct offense, except where
made so by statute, but is merely descriptive of a homicide, the subject of which is a
newborn child. Regardless of the cause, throughout history infanticide has been common.
 Infanticide has been practiced on every continent and by people on every level of cultural
complexity, from hunter gatherers to high civilizations.
Legal provisions to the offence of incest
 see: बालबाललका सम्बन्धी ऐन २०४८
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 Rape defined:
an unlawful sexual activity with a person (usually female) without consent and usually by force of
threat of injury.

Custodial rape: an aggravated form of rape. guardians of the women/girls who are entrusted for
their welfare and safekeeping; authority personnel. Victims: single women, widows of young
children, poverty driven women belonging to the lower strata of the society. Women of any age
group.

Marital rape: without the consent of wife

Gang rape/mass rape: involves a mass of sexual perpetrators on a single woman

Legal provisions to the offence of rape:

 at least a motive can be punishable

 forceful rape 5-7 to 10-15 yrs imprisonment depending upon the case
 within incest, additional punishment
 if a victim dies, additional punishment
 partition rights to the victim to fulfil compensation for the repercussion
 marital rape: consent is important (3-6 months imp.)
 gang rape and disabled, pregnant women cases: extra 5 years imp.
 victim if HIV +ve: extra one year imp.
 motivator/s of rape: 3 yrs; victim<16: double imp.
 attempt of forceful rape: half punishment

Bigamy defined:
an act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another i.e. a person,
without having divorced to the legally married wife, having to maintain relationship of husband and
wife.

Legal provisions to the offence of bigamy:

 1-3 year imp. + 5000-25000 fine for male or female

 conditions: Veneral diseases; incurable madness; medical proof of sterility; total blindness;
already partitioned from husband; separately living for more than 3 years from each other
 intention of killing husband or wife
 in the case of adultery
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 Incest defined:
 sexual intercourse between people who are very closely related
 sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to
marry
Legal provisions to the offence of incest:
 consanguinal relation prohibited by Hindu law (7 generations; 3 generations in US law)
 mother: life imp.
 surrogate sisters/ own daughter/s: 10 years imp.
 brothers' daughters... (within 7 generations) + sister-in-law: 3-6 years imp.
 step sisters: 1 year imp., however, it's not applicable in Muslim culture
 in case of Muslims, prohibited within breastfeeding relation

Prostitution defined:
 the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money
 Badi community (socio-culturally acceptable profession, however the new generation is
reluctant towards it)
 causes: mainly economic, esp.: poverty driven cases indulge in prostitution; lack of agro-
land; unemployment; illiterate and uneducated; recreation and entertainment activities

Legal provisions to the offence of prostitution:

 the cases of remarriages have turned out to be divorced for the sake of easy money among
some women

Homosexuality defined:
 the quality or state of being sexually attracted to people of the same sex
 LGBT: Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

2. Law relating to contraception and Abortion in Nepal

Chapter on abortion
Murder case in previous legal provisions
Currently: conditional i.e. depends upon the period of abortion

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 Law relating to religion and its impact on fertility
Adal ko Mahal: Prohibition to change of religion
Muslims: non-use of contraception -> increase in fertility
Hindu: liberal in terms of the use of contraception, however, son preference leads to increase
fertility

Punishment
incest: depends upon the cases and types
adultery:
jari: movable and immovable property to be returned to the husband/claimer
rape: depends upon the cases and types
infanticide: under child custody if <16 yr (perpetrator)
religion change: forceful;
abortion: period of conception
bigamy: 1-3 yr imp; 5000-25000
prostitution: public offence

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 Unit VIII: Institutional Arrangement for Population Management

Central Bureau of Statistics

Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) was established in 1959 under Statistics Act, 2015 BS as the
central agency for the collection, consolidation, processing, analysis, publication and
dissemination of statistics. It is under the National Planning Commission Secretariat (NPCS) of
Nepal and serves as a national statistical organization of Government of Nepal. It generates
timely and reliable socio-economic statistics mainly through the operation of censuses and
surveys. The main objective of setting up CBS is to avail data to NPCS and other Government
agencies for the formulation of national plans, policies and also produces national account
estimates to measure the economic growth of the country. It carries out different household
surveys and censuses regularly to assess the socio- economic condition of the country. The major
tasks, which CBS has been performing, are decennial population census, agriculture census and
quinquennial manufacturing establishment census.

In addition, many household surveys like living standard surveys, labour force surveys and
multiple indicator surveillance are indispensable tasks, which CBS has been accomplishing. The
role of the CBS is always decisive for the effective functioning of the national statistical system
as a whole. It promotes collaborative research efforts among members of academic community,
data producers and users. It has a prominent role in developing statistical system and maintaining
statistical standard in the country.

Objectives
 Provide timely and quality statistics to Government for the formulation of plan and policy
and acquires the information about socio-economic condition of the country.
 Processing, analysis, publication, dissemination and protection of collected data.
 Coordinate with various agencies involved in data collection, processing and analysis to
avoid statistical discrepancies.
 Develop standard statistical system by performing a leading role in statistical activities.
 Develop statistical manpower.

Main Functions
 Provide necessary statistics to Government for the formulation of plan and policy.

 Collection, processing and analysis of data related to the socio-economic sector.

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  Develop definitions and scientific methodologies for reliable data collection and
implementation.

 Coordinate various data collection agencies and avoid duplications of efforts to generate the
same statistics and develop consolidated statistical system.

 Investigation of various statistical sectors for the need of the Government and produce these
statistics.

 Protection of statistical records.

 Investigation of new technologies in order to make more scientific, reliable and useful data
collection, processing and analysis method.

 Coordinate with various agencies by maintaining consistency and uniformity for quality of
national level statistics.

 Organize training, seminar and workshop on statistical fields at national and international
level.

 Play advisory role to control and coordinate various statistical activities.

 Develop basic statistical manpower.

 Develop and implement the system to provide regular and reliable statistics through Branch
Statistics Offices.

Ministry of Population and its Functions

The Ministry of Health And Population plays a leading role in improving the health of the people
including mental, physical and social well being, for overall national development with the
increased participation of the private sector and non-government institutions in the
implementation of programmes. The Ministry is also responsible to make necessary
arrangements and formulate policies for effective delivery of curative services, disease
prevention, health promotive activities and establishment of a primary health care system. These
activities will be maintained at an international standard under the policies declared on health by
Government of Nepal, ultimately improving the overall condition of health services.

Roles and Responsibilities of Ministry of Health and Population :

 Health Policy, Planning & Implementation.

 Research, Planning & Development of Public Sector Health Services

 Research and Development of Preventive, Promotive, Curative, and Rehabilitative services

associated with Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy & Unani System of Medicine

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  Health Trainings

 Non- Governmental Organizations associated with health services.

 Research, Production, Quality Control, Price Control and Sales & Distribution of drugs and
control of narcotic drugs and control in sales & distribution, import, export & use of unsafe
& poor quality drugs.

 Contact with International Health Organizations and International/ Regional Conferences,

Workshops, Seminars etc.

 Family Planning & Maternal and Child Health & Population Planning

 Environmental Health Programme

 Health & Nutrition Education

 Medical and Health Councils, Academics & other Health Institutions.

 Nepal Health Services Act- Recruitment, appointment, transfer, disciplinary actions and
other related activities.

 Population Policy, Planning, Programming and Implementation.

 Population Studies and Research, Surveys, Trainings and National/ International Seminars
& Conventions

 Population related National & International Contact and Co-ordination

 Population related document publications and dissemination

 Migration Policy, Planning, Programming and Implementation

 Regular and Periodical review and Monitoring of population programmes implemented by

Governmental and Non Governmental Organizations.

 Population related Manpower.

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 Questions

Tribhuvan University
2072
B.A.LL.B/Vth Year/LAW Full Marks: 40
Population Law (594) Time: 1.5 hr.

Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable.

All the questions are of equal value.

Attempt any EIGHT questions, including Q. No. 1 which is compulsory.

Group "A" (Comprehensive Answer Question) 15

1. Define population law. Examine the sources of population law.

Group "B" Attempt any TWO questions 2*5=10

2. What is citizenship? What are the kinds of citizenship? Discuss.

3. Spell out the legal provisions in Nepal relating to adoption.
4. Examine the provisions and procedures relating to divorce under the Nepalese law.

Group "C" Attempt any FIVE questions 5*3=15

5. How is the study of Population law important? Examine.

6. Highlight the co-relation of population law with human rights.
7. Outline the Women's Reproductive Rights.
8. Describe the functions of Central Bureau of Statistics.
9. Is religion a reason for the population growth? Answer with reasons.
10. What are the legal provisions relating to the offence of Incest in Nepal?
11. Explain the role of Ministry of Population.

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