There are probably a lot of bugs invading your house right now that stink when you smash them. The principles and ideals of democracy are inherently good and a democratic system is desirable for Bhutan. These included: the imposition of a dress code that obliged everyone to be attired in the clothes of the majority community when entering all government offices and monasteries and the privileging of the Dzongkha language, which became compulsory in conversations in public places. In terms of content, there were some distinctive features that will be referred to later. As one scholar noted, the Lhotsampas ‘are very proud of their tradition and, in fact, they look to Nepal and India as the centres of their civilisation, historical achievements and religious pilgrimage. That parliament, a bicameral body,70 was put in place in April 2008,71 and it debated the provisions of the draft Constitution in a joint sitting held on 9–29 May 2008. Candidates for most elections and appointments in Bhutan must be non-partisan; however, political parties may slate candidates for seats in the National Assembly.
Bhutan occupies a strategic location, nestled as it is in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and India to the south, with Nepal and Bangladesh in close proximity to its borders. This period also saw growing communist influence in Nepal and its environs and fears that the refugee camps run by the United Nations in Nepal that housed those who had been expelled from Bhutan, as noted above, had been infiltrated by Maoists. 119 Indeed, an authoritative publication on the subject, issued by the Royal Courts of Justice as recently as 2001, is not only silent on the Tibetan antecedents of the Bhutanese legal system but suggests that the country was ‘lawless’ before the advent of Ngawang Namgyal, who unified Bhutan in the 17th century.10 It needs to be stated, however, that a modern effort at codifying the law, undertaken in 1959—which resulted in a document called Khrimsgzhung Chennmo (Supreme Law Code)—clearly brought out colonial British and Indian legal influences on contemporary approaches to the administration of justice. The constitution-making process in Bhutan has been as complex as it has, in many respects, been sui generis.122 The interplay between modernizing and traditional influences is a particularly striking characteristic of the process and a key determinant of the final shape of the constitutional document. In 2008, Bhutan adopted its first modern Constitution, codifying the institutions of government and the legal framework for a democratic multi-party system. The criminal justice system is based on trial before a panel of judges, and therefore resembles more the Napoleonic than the British or American adversarial systems. The Court shall recognize and respect the roles of other governmental institutions without abdicating its role as the guardian of the Constitution. However, with gentle persuasion and consistent effort, including by Their Majesties, people accepted the imminent changes as an inevitable step towards progress and the future.68. At that time, I was a second-grader in Samrang Primary School in the southeastern part of Bhutan.
Speech of the Prime Minister of Bhutan to the United Nations (12 July 2008) 25
The King's first landmark project after his formal coronation was launching the National Cadastral Resurvey in March 2009, aimed at resolving long-standing issues of excess land that affect every Bhutanese household. What is undeniable is that the reform process has been a ‘top down’ exercise, with King Jigme Singye Wangchuk playing a pivotal role.
Tenzin Rondel Wangchuk (Minister Counsellor, Royal Bhutanese Embassy, Belgium), ‘Development of Democracy in Bhutan: A Personal Perspective’ Address to the Danish–Bhutan Friendship Association (25 March 2017)
It needs to be added as well that, since at least the time of the second king, Bhutanese penal policy and laws began reflecting some British influences that intensified over the years, culminating in modern laws that embody strong elements of Anglo-Saxon concepts and approaches to crime and punishment. Remarks by Jigme Singye Wangchuk in a royal audience, 30 November 2001, cited in Tobgye (n 40) 25. However, to the outside world, namely India and before that the British Raj, Bhutan was viewed as less than sovereign for their own geopolitical interests. The post of Prime Minister rotated each year between the five candidates who secured the highest number of votes. Constitution making in most countries is preceded by the establishment of a body called a Constituent Assembly. The division between the Lhotsampas and the Drupkas is essentially based on religion, with the former practising Hinduism in a country whose national identity bears a strong and unassailable link to Buddhism.23 The Lhotsampas constitute a substantial minority, numbering approximately 35 per cent of the population.24. But the question is, is Bhutan genuinely a happy nation? Tenth Five-Year Plan: 2008–2013 (Gross National Happiness Commission, Royal Government of Bhutan 2009). Government of Bhutan, Eleventh National Assembly Debates (1983), Resolution 3, 1. Lham Dorji, ‘Understanding the Concept of Civil Society in Bhutan’ in Understanding Civil Society in Bhutan (Centre for Bhutan Studies 2005) 9–10. The constitution-making process itself cannot be said to be entirely sui generis, not least because there has been significant procedural borrowing from the experience of other jurisdictions.
[6] The legislative branch itself oversees devolved local governments.[7]. The current Prime Minister, Dr. Lotay Tshering, heads the Druk Nyamrup Tshongpa. Democracy was, he said, ‘the dominant mode of political organisation’ and ‘legitimacy in the global community of nations increasingly required demonstration of democratic credentials’.45 Bhutan, in his view, could not buck that trend.
Bhutan relentlessly preaches mantras of happiness, and we agree without confirming. Gallenkamp (n 1) 2. Jon Elster, ‘Forces and Mechanisms in the Constitution-Making Process’ (1995) 45 Duke LJ 394. The Government of Bhutan has been a constitutional monarchy since 18 July 2008. [6] The first Prime Minister, Jigme Thinley, was a member of the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party. In the most narrow sense, ‘drupka’ has been employed to denote exclusively two of the five tribal groups that inhabit Bhutan, viz Bhumtops and Kurtops. Even so, it remained isolated and did not, among other things, allow tourists in until 1974, by which time a 17-year-old Jigme Singye Wangchuk had taken over the reins of the monarchy from his father. Even so, as Bhutan approaches the 11th anniversary of its experiment with a process that remains historically significant for this tiny Himalayan kingdom, it would not be an exaggeration to say that many Bhutanese people are only still coming to terms with democracy. It would be fair to say, therefore, that the potential for ethnic tensions was one of the factors that must have weighed in the mind of King Jigme Singye Wangchuk when he pushed for constitutional reform. Consisting of only 35 articles, it dealt with such matters as the nature of the polity; the role and position of the monarchy; citizenship; fundamental rights; fundamental duties; principles of state policy; powers, privileges, functions, and membership of parliament; financial affairs; political parties; public campaign financing; the formation of government; the executive; the judiciary; local government; elections; the defence of the realm; holders of constitutional offices; emergency powers; and the procedure for amendment. What happened in Bhutan in the early 1990s is still largely unknown in the West. Bhutan has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction. Ibid art 2. This glaring departure from an important constitutional provision was seen as flawed by some observers,115 but it was allowed to proceed unquestioned, nonetheless, by the political establishment. The first was a declaration by Jigme Singye Wangchuk on 9 December 2006 that he intended to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, Jigme Khesar Wangchuk, who, he announced, would be given practical responsibility for running the country with immediate effect.69 What was the (supposed) rationale for this transfer of powers, and, in particular, can any link be drawn to the constitution-making exercise? The signs seemed to pop up overnight. The king was also acutely conscious, it was opined, of the vulnerability of his own family to the kind of stresses and strains that had led to the demise of the Nepali monarchy. See Samten Karmay, ‘The Letter of Zbah Drung Ngag dbang rnam rgyal (1594–1651) in John Ardussi and Sonam Tobgay (eds), Written Treasures of Bhutan: Mirror of the Past and Bridge to the Future (National Library of Bhutan 2008) 240. Political process. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (, COVID-19 in Civil or Commercial Disputes: First Responses from Chinese Courts, A New Multilateralism?
Ibid. Whereas in the previous section attention was paid to the king as an actor who had a commanding presence in the constitution-making process, an attempt will be made in this section to discuss the substantive issue of the belief system that underpinned the actions of the king. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan was formally adopted in a historic signing ceremony held on July 18, 2008, at the Tashichhodzong.
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