Bhandari Law and Partners represents clients in criminal and civil matters before the District Court, High Court, and Supreme Court of Nepal, as well as before the country's quasi-judicial bodies. The litigation team is led by Advocate Thahar Bahadur Bhandari, who has been practicing in this space for more than 30 years — long enough to have argued through several generations of procedural reform and to know how Nepal's courts actually work in practice, not just on paper.

Our approach starts before a case ever gets filed. Where a dispute can realistically be resolved through mediation or settlement, we try that route first — it's usually faster, cheaper, and less disruptive for the client than years of litigation. Court proceedings come next, when settlement genuinely isn't an option.

Nepal's Court Structure

Nepal's judiciary runs on three tiers: the District Court hears matters first, the High Court sits above it on appeal (and on certain matters directly), and the Supreme Court is the final word. Alongside the regular court system, a range of quasi-judicial and tribunal bodies handle disputes in specific areas — labor, revenue, and administrative matters among them — and knowing which forum a case actually belongs in is often the first strategic decision in a matter.

Arbitration sits somewhat apart from this structure. Nepal has its own Arbitration Act, and separately is a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, having acceded with reciprocity and commercial reservations. In practice, that reciprocity requirement matters a great deal — Nepal will only enforce a foreign award if the country where it was made would, in turn, enforce a Nepalese one. That's not always guaranteed even between countries that are both signatories to the Convention, which is exactly the kind of jurisdictional detail that needs careful handling before a client assumes an award will simply be enforced here.

What We Do

Litigation advisory

Before a case is filed, we advise on the merits, the likely forum, and the realistic path forward — including whether settlement is worth pursuing first.

Drafting claims and defenses

We prepare the petitions, claims, and defenses that go before the court, built around the specific facts and the applicable law.

Representation before courts and tribunals

We appear for clients at every level — District Court, High Court, Supreme Court, and the relevant quasi-judicial and tribunal bodies.

Enforcement of court decisions

Winning a case is only half the job. We assist clients in actually enforcing a favorable judgment once it's been issued.

Arbitration and enforcement of foreign awards

We represent clients in arbitration proceedings and handle the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Nepal, including navigating the reciprocity and procedural requirements that determine whether an award will actually hold up in a Nepalese court.

Areas We Cover

Our litigation work spans white-collar crime, family disputes, property and real estate matters, tort claims, and general civil and criminal cases. That range matters in practice — disputes often don't stay confined to one area of law, and having a team that can handle the criminal, civil, and regulatory angles of a single matter together tends to serve the client better than handing pieces of the same problem to different firms.

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