Criminal
2004 Penal Code with no death penalty
The Penal Code of Bhutan 2004 codified offences and grades them by value and seriousness. Capital punishment was abolished in 2004, and the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code governs process.
Governing law
- Penal Code of Bhutan, 2004amended 2011
- Civil and Criminal Procedure Code of Bhutan, 2001
- Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse Act, 2015
In practice
Offences are classified from petty misdemeanour up to felony of the first degree, with sentencing bands attached. Tobacco sale was criminalised for years and then liberalised in 2021, a good illustration of how quickly Bhutanese statute can move. Homosexual conduct was decriminalised in 2021. Defendants have a right to counsel, and jabmi (legal representatives) appear in court under the Jabmi Act.