Bhutanese Law - History

History

The history of the law of Bhutan extends to the country's formation in the 17th century. Founder Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal's regime was bound by a legal code called the Tsa Yig, which described the spiritual and civil regime and provided laws for government administration and for social and moral conduct. The duties and virtues inherent in the Buddhist dharma (religious law) played a large role in the new legal code, which remained in force until the 1960s. The recent and current enforcement of the Driglam Namzha, the code which governs the dress and behavior in public, may be seen as a part of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal's wider legal legacy in Bhutan.

The Tsa Yig was revised in 1957 and ostensibly replaced with a new code in 1965. The 1965 code, however, retained most of the spirit and substance of the 17th century code. Family problems, such as marriage, divorce, and adoption, usually were resolved through recourse to Buddhist or Hindu religious law. In modern Bhutan, village heads often judged minor cases and dzongkhag (district) officials adjudicated major crimes. The judicial system's civil and criminal codes continued to be built upon the Tsa Yig. Strict censorship laws have been enforced comparable to those of Bhutan's South Asian neighbours.

Trials in the 1980s were public, and it was the practice of the accuser and the accused each to put their cases in person to judges. There were no Jabmi (attorneys) in Bhutan's legal system until the 1980s, and decisions were made on the facts of each case as presented by the litigants. Judges were responsible for investigations, filing of charges, prosecution, and judgment of defendants in an inquisitorial system. Serious crimes were extremely rare throughout the 20th century, although there were reports of increased criminal activity in the 1980s and early 1990s with the influx of foreign laborers, widening economic disparities, and greater contact with foreign cultures.