Visiting Faculty: Prof. Dr. Surya Dhungel

Professor (Dr.) Surya Dhungel

Member, Faculty Board, Kathmandu University School of Law

Professor (Dr.) Surya Dhungel is a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal and a member of the Kathmandu University School of Law Faculty Board.

Dr. Dhungel began his legal practice in Janakpurdham, southeastern Nepal, with his father after joining the Nepal Bar Association in 1976. Since 1977, he has been practicing at the Supreme Court of Nepal in Kathmandu, except for the period between 1999 and 2006, when he worked with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) in Cambodia. In 2004, he was seconded to the United Nations Mission in Liberia as a Rule of Law Adviser (Human Rights) for two years.

He served at the Faculty of Law, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, for over 22 years as a Professor until voluntarily retiring in 1999. During his academic and professional career, he contributed to the making of the 1990 Constitution of Nepal through a participatory constitution-making project, as President of LEADERS-Nepal, a leading national NGO.

After the promulgation of the 1990 Constitution, Dr. Dhungel initiated a parliament strengthening program under the Society for Parliamentary and Constitutional Exercises (SCOPE), where he served as founding member and President. He also played a leading role in public interest litigation in the Supreme Court, focusing on resource conservation, human rights, and the rule of law.

Dr. Dhungel holds LL.M and Ph.D. degrees in constitutional law and has received advanced training in human rights, water law, and conservation management from Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA. He co-authored two prominent books on the Nepalese Constitution and legal system in English and has published numerous articles on contemporary legal issues.