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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Protecting our judiciary...

Wanted: more protection

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 [...]

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 [...]

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? [...]

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