What Are Fundamental Rights?
Fundamental Rights: Your Constitutional Guarantees
Fundamental rights are the basic rights that the Constitution guarantees to every person — rights the State cannot take away by ordinary law. In Nepal, they are set out in Part 3 of the Constitution (Articles 16 to 46), which together guarantee 31 fundamental rights.
Rights for "every person" vs. "every citizen"
Read the wording carefully. Some rights belong to every person in Nepal — for example, the Right to Live with Dignity (Article 16) begins "Every person shall have the right to live with dignity." Others are reserved for every citizen — such as the Right relating to Education (Article 31). This distinction matters in law.
How your rights are protected
Rights on paper mean little without a way to enforce them. The Constitution provides that way:
- Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 46) — every citizen has the right to go to court to enforce their fundamental rights.
- A person can file a petition in the Supreme Court or a High Court if a fundamental right is violated.
- Implementation of Fundamental Rights (Article 47) — the State is required to make the laws needed to give effect to these rights.
Notably, the very first fundamental right includes a firm limit on State power: Article 16(2) states that "No law shall be made providing for the death penalty to anyone." Nepal has abolished capital punishment at the constitutional level.
Rights come with duties
The same Part 3 that grants your rights also lists your duties as a citizen (Article 48). Rights and duties are two sides of citizenship — you will study the duties in the final lesson.
Source: Constitution of Nepal, Part 3, as published by the Nepal Law Commission (lawcommission.gov.np).
