Bhutan · Overview
The legal system of Bhutan
A young constitutional system resting on an old customary base. Law derives from the Tsa Yig, the monastic legal code of the seventeenth century, modernised through the Thrimzhung Chhenmo of 1953 — the first written national code — and then reformed extensively after the 2008 Constitution. Adjudication follows common-law method with Indian influence, and the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code 2001 and Penal Code 2004 supply modern procedure. Buddhist principles remain an explicit interpretive influence, and Gross National Happiness is a constitutional state objective rather than a slogan.
Legal tradition
Bhutan belongs to the mixed common law and buddhist customary tradition tradition. A young constitutional system resting on an old customary base. Law derives from the Tsa Yig, the monastic legal code of the seventeenth century, modernised through the Thrimzhung Chhenmo of 1953 — the first written national code — and then reformed extensively after the 2008 Constitution. Adjudication follows common-law method with Indian influence, and the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code 2001 and Penal Code 2004 supply modern procedure. Buddhist principles remain an explicit interpretive influence, and Gross National Happiness is a constitutional state objective rather than a slogan.
How power is divided
Unitary with constitutionally entrenched local government: 20 dzongkhags, each with an elected Dzongkhag Tshogdu, plus gewog and thromde councils. Article 22 requires devolution of power to elected local governments, and local bodies have defined planning and revenue functions.
Where law comes from
- The Constitution of 2008
- Supreme law; inconsistent legislation is void.
- Acts of Parliament
- Including the Thrimzhung Chhenmo 1953 as amended and modern codes.
- Judicial precedent
- Supreme Court decisions bind lower courts.
- Buddhist and customary norms
- Recognised interpretive sources where consistent with the Constitution.
- Royal decrees (Kashos)
- Historically a principal source; now exercised within constitutional limits.
The legal profession
Regulated by the Bhutan National Legal Institute and the Jabmi Tshogdey (Bar Council) under the Jabmi Act. Practitioners, called jabmis, require a law degree — historically obtained in India — and a licence; the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law in Thimphu graduated its first cohort in 2022, so domestic legal education is very new. The profession is small, numbering a few hundred licensed practitioners.
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