|
The high court has begun an exercise
aimed at educating the people of the rule of law and
the judicial process starting from Punakha, the very
place where the Zhabdrung codified Bhutan’s first laws
nearly four hundred years ago.
Speaking at the three-day workshop
in the Punakha dzong the Chief Justice, Lyonpo Sonam
Tobgye, said that citizens must recognise their rights
inherent in the laws of the land. "As long as cows
have horns, there will always be somebody trying to
rope them," he said, indicating that ignorance
could unnecessarily leave people exposed to risks.
The Chief Justice reminded the gathering of the great
contribution made by His Majesty the King in the evolution
of Bhutan's judicial system and urged the participants
to take His Majesty’s message of justice across to people.
According to a high court spokesman
the workshop, inaugurated by Her Royal Highness Ashi
Sonam Dechen Wangchuck on August 20 and attended by
33 Dzongkhag Yargye Tshogchung members including the
gups and chimis from the nine geogs in the Punakha dzongkhag,
was aimed at explaining to the people the historic Civil
and Criminal Procedure Code of Bhutan passed in the
79th session of the National Assembly this year.
"The procedural laws define the
role of judges and rights of litigants," he said.
"Awareness of laws tends to make good citizens
and implementations of the rule of law easy." He
added that, according to the law, "nobody"
should be punished "unless proven guilty".
The high court had targeted the DYT
members to spread the awareness on the laws because
of their role as community leaders and because they
enjoyed closer contact with the public. "We want
to sensitize and promote our legal system through the
community leaders," said the spokesman.
The new laws, some gups and chimis
told Kuensel, were easier to understand than the previous
ones. "The new laws will benefit the citizens because
they cover a wide range of issues," said chimi
Namgyel Phuntsho. "And thanks to the high court,
the simplified version is much more understandable."
He said he will do his best to explain to the people
although it would be difficult for everyone to understand
all the segments of the law.
The gup of Chubu, Dolay, said that
he would try to inform the people in each and every
village meeting but, first, it was important to make
the village elders comprehend the law. According to
chimi Dophu the information on how to seek jabmis (legal
counsel), for example, was very useful for the people.
"Before people were required by traditions to give
something to the gups in return for requests to take
their cases but now with the new law, they are obliged
to take people's cases whether they like it or not."
Funded by the Liaison Office of Denmark,
Thimphu, similar workshops will be conducted all over
the country.
|
