Pending the establishment of proper indigenous facilities for the education of lawyers––and the recent announcement, in this context, that a Royal Institute of Law is planned with American support in the near future deserves at least a cautious welcome16––the Bhutanese authorities must consider urgent measures to upskill its Indian-educated lawyers and judges with additional training and refresher courses at both academic and vocational levels. Such indeed was the case in neighbouring India whose constitutional historians have chronicled and dissected the exchanges in that country’s Constituent Assembly at such length and in such detail that those wanting to learn about them have a wealth of material to turn to. Central to many of the challenges were questions concerning the interpretation of the Constitution––a subject that is as thorny as it is unavoidable in any country, let alone a nascent democracy. In that sense, the enactment of the Constitution marked a watershed moment for the country: It was a decisive step towards transferring sovereignty from the king to the people, and that can be seen as reasonable justification for the move towards a written Constitution. protection of the sovereignty and security of the country and promotion of the national interest and the welfare of the people.8 Elsewhere, the author has made reference to what he calls the ‘immutable principle’ of the Constitution, viz. Dzongkha is the National Language of Bhutan. Tobgye rather cryptically describes the philosophical basis of the Constitution as ‘internal freedom with external symbiotic existence’7––a description which, in the absence of elaboration, may leave many readers puzzled. Though not a professional lawyer, his stewardship of the judiciary has been commended, not least for ensuring that this institution occupies its rightful place as one of the pillars of modern Bhutan. Bhutanese judges need to guard themselves against this tendency at all times. A key feature of the Constitution which finds explicit mention in the document13 but which has not received the width or depth of analysis in Tobgye’s commentary that it deserves concerns the supremacy of the Constitution. The enactment of a written Constitution––coupled with the growth of a ‘rights’culture, partly engendered by domestic law and partly encouraged by outside influences–– means that many issues which in the past were either settled through informal or traditional systems of dispute resolution or subjected to royal adjudication will now fall in the lap of judges. However, it was pointed out to the committee considering the constitution that, given the importance that was being attached to the concept of separation of powers, it was unwise to use the word ‘minister’ in relation to the chief justice and that the title in Dzongkha should be ‘bgrug gi khrims spyi’ (Chief Justice of Bhutan, as in the English version). It is now seven years since Bhutan adopted a written Constitution as part of a series of far-reaching reforms commenced in 2001 by the Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. to what extent can the monarch exercise law-making powers on his own? Of the key challenges, finding suitable judges who bring to bear those qualities of independence, integrity, wisdom and competence that are a sine qua non for the survival of the rule of law will rank very high on the nation’s agenda. For a developing country like Bhutan, the challenges in this area are formidable. Quite clearly, Bhutan’s long-standing Buddhist heritage cannot be lost sight of in this context. Bhutan’s Constitution-making process was noteworthy for the absence of a traditional forum––such as a Constituent Assembly––in which rival views and assessments of what was on offer would have been debated in full public glare. Those familiar with the law and practice on judicial appointments are likely to take issue with Tobgye on an aspect of Bhutan’s Constitution which is as unique as it is difficult to understand. It is to be hoped that wiser counsel will prevail and this irrational provision is revisited by Parliament. that ‘the form of Government shall be that of a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy’. The unreasonableness of this clause becomes even more apparent if it is realised that a person may be appointed to the office of chief justice at a relatively young age, say in his early fifties, and would have to effectively see his career reach a dead end by his mid-fifties because, by the very nature of his office, a judge cannot seek employment in any capacity after he steps down from the Bench. Apart from denying the judge his legitimate expectations to self-fulfilment, this retrograde provision also has the potential to contribute to a huge waste of talent which a developing country like Bhutan can ill afford. The bulk of the book is devoted to an Article-by-Article exposition of the Constitution. Tobgye has rendered a signal service to his beloved country through his book. The legal and judicial communities cannot earn the trust and respect of the people they serve unless they set a good example themselves. Remarks such as these, with their implied undertone of worries about instability, corruption and ethnic polarisation, may yet turn out to be prescient––and therefore worthy of notice––given the dismal record that party politics has had in many countries, particularly in Bhutan’s neighbourhood. More often than not, judges in the subcontinent behave as if they hold a monopoly of wisdom. Another stark reality of the Indian legal education system which makes its graduates highly suspect and less than fit for legal practice, let alone for a future career on the Bench, is that, for nearly two generations now, India has not had any decent system of vocational training for its lawyers. 2. As Bhutan’s infant democracy evolves, the judiciary will be buffeted by many currents and cross-currents. That body, then chaired by one of India’s leading jurists, M.C. 10. While India has, traditionally, had an enviable reputation in the field of legal education, recent decades have seen a precipitous fall in standards at Indian universities. The causes for this malaise are too numerous and too complex to go into presently, but many of the observations made by the Law Commission of India as far back as 1958 hold true even today. The risks of a judge who wallows in his own importance or ability cannot be overstated. • Official or national languages 8. Bhutan constitution The immutable principle of the Constitution of Bhutan is that “the form of Government shall be that of a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy.” 4 Immutable principle is also known as the basic structure of the constitution. Part of that debate also showed another interesting aspect of Bhutanese society, viz. Article 21, Section 6(a) limits the tenure of the Chief Justice of Bhutan to five years or less.18Tobgye justifies this cap on tenure by arguing, firstly, that ‘[a] tenure and age bar is required to avoid entrenched interest and acquired bias’ and, secondly, that whatever good work that an incumbent chief justice wants to do can be done within five years if he is ‘capable’.

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