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Legal issues discussed (Kuensel issue
November 18-24, 2000)
Bhutan's judiciary met this week, in Thimphu, to discuss
problems facing the legal profession and to chart a
future course of action for an efficient and effective
legal system.
About 42 legal professionals from all
over the country- thrimpons, dungthrims, high court
officials and a few dungpas- attended the conference
which has become an annual event providing a platform
for healthy discussion and possible solutions.
"The conference provides an opportunity
for thrimpons and judicial officials in the districts
to discuss the problems faced during the course of their
work," a high court spokesman said. "And gives
the high court an opportunity to discuss the various
aspects of Bhutanese law with the judicial officials
in the field."
Speaking at the conference, the Chief
Justice, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye, said that the conference
was a forum which enabled the judiciary to exchange
views and ideas on the practical operation of law. "The
gamut of opinions of the courts on the important contemporary
legal problems will enable us to figure out where our
strengths and weaknesses lie and the mismatch between
theory and practices, if any," he said. "This
will help us to correctly diagnose the malady of our
system so that we tackle it correctly."
The chief justice said that the judiciary
should preserve the past and meet the future challenges
to ensure due process and respect for the law of the
land.
The judicial system must be user friendly
and render justice promptly and igmpartially, he said
adding that to achieve this the judiciary should continue
its pursuit of capacity building and if necessary seek
technocratic solution to the problems.
He said that while procedural law guaranteed
the process of law it did not imply that preparation
time for defence should be sacrificed. "Delay is
a judicial course and one cannot invoke the defense
of adequate time indefinitely and courts cannot be partners
to that misuse," he said adding that litigants
who misused and abused the legal system by prolonging
a case should be discouraged. "A criminal shall
not take permanent shelter under the umbrella of law."
Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye said that the judiciary
should define norms, establish procedures and institutional
steps for improvement and, if needed, change to eliminate
flaws and deficiencies in the system to render justice.
"With the growing influence of
scientific and economic development on law the danger
of corruption is looming large and the judiciary must
efficiently and effectively respond to it in time,"
he said. "It is a cancerous growth and it is time
to contain those human vices and deter onlookers. We
should be fair and firm."
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