After the election of the Nepalese Constituent Assembly on 10 April 2008 high hopes have been placed
in this new convention. It has been assigned the difficult task to facilitate the transformation of a conflict-
ridden and autocratically ruled country into a peaceful democracy. A first step was the abolition of the monarchy
on 28 May 2008 when Nepal was declared a Federal Democratic Republic. The next topic on the agenda of the
Constituent Assembly is a reform of Nepal's state structure.

At this point the issue of federalism comes into play which is currently advocated by a majority of actors in
the political arena. Through various activities within this project EURAC - Institute for Studies on Federalism
and Regionalism will make its expertise on federalism available to organizations of Nepalese civil society, academics
and members of the Constituent Assembly. These activities will include workshops, study visits and publications that
highlight recommendations based on the Institute's knowledge of federal systems in Europe and elsewhere. From the
perspective of a consultant the institute will observe both the process andthe outcome of the constitutional reform
towards establishing a federal state. The process is supposed to be critically looked at against the background of
comparative conclusions that may be drawn from the foundation of other federal states in order to ensure broad public
support for the new constitution in all regions of Nepal. The eventual outcome of the reform process, the new federal
constitution, is supposed to be scrutinized particularly in terms of its ability to accommodate Nepal's numerous
minorities.

For further information:
Email to Institute for Studies on Federalism and Regionalism