Bhutan’s latest convict
The Thimphu District Court has sentenced Sonam Tshering to jail for three years. Another lawyer has volunteered to represent Sonam Tshering. So I'm hopeful that he will agree to appeal to the High Court.
Sonam Tshering matters
Sonam’s Lawyer generated a lot of questions about why I was so interested in helping Sonam Tshering, the first Bhutanese to be detained under the Tobacco Control Act. “lindawangmo”, who was the first to question my motives, wrote: Ever since Sonam Tshering has been arrested your Blog has been full of support for him and the whole town talks about him. But what disturbed me was ppl hardly talk about the second catch, the driver, no one knows about him, does he have no relatives or friends. Are you backing sonam Tshering because he is a haap, or because…
Sonam’s lawyer
Sonam Tshering now has legal help. Ritu Raj Chhetri, an accomplished lawyer and ex-PDP candidate, has agreed to represent him free of charge. Earlier today, I went to the detention center to meet Sonam, and to introduce him to his legal counsel. I’m hopeful.
Facing the Ban
Kinley Shering, a concerned citizen, has launched "Amend the Tobacco Act", a group on Facebook. The group is closed but, if you have a Facebook account, you can ask to join the group. Cee Dee Jamtsho, another concerned citizen, posted this on Kinley's Facebook group:
Bhutan today
Bhutan Today's editorial, for readers who do not have access to the newspaper. Their website is woefully inadequate!
Calling concerned citizens
Sonam Tshering is 23 years old. He is charged with smuggling tobacco. And, if convicted, he could be jailed for 3 to 5 years. If Sonam Tshering did indeed smuggle tobacco, he should be sent to jail. That’s what the Tobacco Control Act sanctions. The laws of the land must prevail. But think about this law. Think about how draconian the Tobacco Control Act really is. Sonam Tshering could go to jail for 3 years for possessing four packs of Baba chewing tobacco. Each pack has a dozen packets. So he had a total of 48 packets of chewing…
Appealling justice
Yesterday, after learning that the government was appealing the High Court’s verdict, Bhutan Today sent me some questions. With their permission, I’m reproducing their questions and my answers here. What do you think about the government appealing to the Supreme Court? I am pleased that the government has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court, as they were obviously not satisfied with the High Court’s verdict. Remember that the government has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court. As far as the opposition party is concerned, we respect the government’s decision to appeal, and will submit to the…
Felicitating the Judiciary
The High Court has rendered judgment on Bhutan’s first constitutional case. The esteemed Court ruled that the taxes imposed by the government earlier this year are unlawful, and ordered the government to refund those taxes. The Court also issued an injunction preventing the government from raising taxes without the Parliament’s approval. The High Court’s landmark verdict has been hailed as a victory for the opposition party. And the opposition has received numerous congratulatory messages. We are duly humbled. And grateful for the good wishes. But, the felicitations are misguided. The Court’s verdict, in fact, is not a victory for…
Royal decree
I see two important points in His Majesty the King’s kasho instituting the Royal Commission and outlining the process to establish the first Supreme Court of Bhutan. The first is that the delay in establishing the Supreme Court was deliberate. It was meant to make the “… new democratic institutions learn to work together in harmony, and with unity of purpose, in the interest of the Nation and People.” The second is that, His Majesty the King has devolved his authority and created an even more transparent process of establishing the Supreme Court. Though Article 21, Section 4 of…
Protecting our judiciary
On 9 June, Kuensel reported that the selection of the new DDC secretary may have violated the RCSC's position classification system. If this is the case, RCSC should look into it. I have no problem about a member of the judiciary applying of a civil service post, and the RCSC accepting that person's candidature, or selecting that person. No problem that is, as long as both the Judiciary's rules and the RCSC's rules are followed. So the RCSC may wish to ensure that due process was followed. RCSC should also consider if it has infringed on the independence of…
Supremacy of law
Every now and then a reader will leave a comment that is completely unrelated to and has nothing to do with a topic being discussed. This is okay. After all, one should be allowed to raise important issues even though they are not being discussed here. So I try to acknowledge these out-of-the-blue comments. Deo recently made one such comment. This is what deo wrote in CDG unconstitutional: "OL, since you seem to have an opinion on everything, and has become a self-appointed legal expert, what is your take on the Jemina case? In your opinion, who is correct…
Supreme excuse
Bhutan Observer, Bhutan Times and Kuensel are doing a pretty good job of keeping the controversy over the appointment of the Bhutan Post CEO alive. If it were not for them, the Cabinet’s tentative response to ACC’s investigation and report would have gone unquestioned, and the public would be none the wiser.But now what? Constitutional experts argue that only the Supreme Court, as the final authority on the interpretation of the Constitution, can decide if the cabinet’s action on the ACC’s report, or lack thereof, is unconstitutional. And that the differences between the ACC and the Cabinet cannot be…