While justiciable fundamental rights were considered sine qua non of the Constitution, it was also felt that the Constitution must also provide corresponding fundamental duties. His Majesty although had already decentralized power to the people, it was acknowledged that the Constitution must further strengthen the devolution of power to empower the people at the district and village level.
Therefore, it was essential to develop a mechanism under the Constitution to enable people to participate in the political process through periodic elections and proportional representation.
Keeping in view of the modern constitutionalism, and, particularly in developing countries like ours, social welfare and economic development goals were needed to be secured by the Constitution as the premier policy to achieve the goal of Gross National Happiness.
It may be noted that some of the unique features of the Bhutanese Constitution are reflected by not interposing or transposing of constitutional provisions from any particular country.
However, Bhutan has been fortunate to learn from the positive experiences and mistakes of other constitutions. Indian Constitution is not only time tested but a living document that provided arrays of provisions that were most revered and India is the most vibrant democracies in the world.
The constitutional debate was an enquiry and agreeing upon certain basic structure such as whether the constitution should adopt federalism or a unitary or parliamentary form of government; whether the legislature should be represented by Single or Two Houses Parliament; and most importantly when it comes to Judiciary — whether to adopt a Concentrated or Diffused system.
The constitutional creation of the Supreme Court of Bhutan adopting the Diffused system like Indian Supreme Court provided the Supreme Court of Bhutan as the final interpreter and the guardian of the Constitution. This system justly guarantees horizontal check and balances with the other branches of the government while other constitutional offices equally provide delineated vertical checks and balances in a democracy.
The creation of National Council akin to Raja Shaba in a manner that provide wisdom in law making was an important transition wherein the roles of National Council in Money and Finance Bills including the passing of Budget had to be clarified by the First Constitutional Case decided by the High Court and later affirmed by the Supreme Court of Bhutan. Indian Constitution illuminates the world as the most working Constitution. I believe that it is due to the coordinated efforts of all its institutions and most importantly its citizens who uphold the Constitution as their divine avatar.
We were aware and the idea was that -whatever contestation arising out of constitutional interpretation by the Supreme Court of other countries as well as cases resolved by the Supreme Court of India had to be addressed in our Constitution itself. Among many cases, case like Kesavananda Bharati Vs. The recent decision by the Supreme Court on Aydohaya case which invoked a win-win situation is landmark for any judiciaries to reckon with.
We expect that Bhutanese judiciary in transition and in times to come will imbibe similar rulings — what I say is judging beyond the traditional concept of what is right and wrong. It may be noted that we were fortunate to have the current Attorney General of India, K. Vennugopal as our constitutional advisor during the advance stages of the draft Constitution.
His pro bono service and his wisdom and guidance in reviewing our draft Constitution ensured the inviolable catena of friendship cemented through Constitution and democracy in Bhutan. His resounding prayers were:. His constitutional values and avatars in the Judges are the agents of social and economic transformation and protectors of liberties in post-independent India. His embedded social and economic values are transformative and reformative, reminding India of its glorious past and the promises of its great future.
His constitutional principles and germane values soared and traversed the oceans and the mountains of the globe.
Bhutan was a grateful recipient of this wisdom. The best constitution should be the one, which is religiously followed both by the State and its people. The Constitution is all about how it is practiced in its true spirit. It is said that the best of a Constitution is not entirely dependent on the framers.
It is the history of a situation that makes a great Constitution. As it is granted to us today, we must remember that even more important than the wise and judicious use of the powers it confers, is the unconditional fulfillment of the responsibilities we must shoulder. Only in understanding our duties will the exercise of our powers be fruitful. If we can serve our nation with this knowledge and in this spirit, then an even brighter future awaits our country. Each word has earned its sacred place with the blessings of every citizen in our nation.
And today, through this, my Hand and Seal, I affix on to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, the hopes and prayers of my People. A condensed version of the keynote speech, Justice Lungten Dubgyur delivered at the 70th Constitution Day of India ceremony on November Sources of the Constitution The establishment of the first hereditary monarch, Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck by the people of Bhutan with the signing of the historic social contract or Genja at Punakha in has ended the long-standing political instability in the pre monarchy era in Bhutanese history.
Read More Stories Editorial. No way back November 11th, The residents in Phuentsholing town were awaken to the Sound policy or good fortune? November 10th, The international media is hailing Bhutan and two other Bhutan and Nepal, the last kingdoms of the region, are the sole state survivors of an old regional order that has seen the incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China and that of Sikkim into the Indian Union in the course of the 20th century.
Nepal, a drifting kingdom, once so peaceful, victim of a ten year old insurrection that precipitated into an institutional crisis, has become the most fragile country of the Indian Sub-Continent.
Bhutan, more serene, but having reached a turning point in its history, is looking for a solution to the challenges thrown to it, along the lines of a subdued reformism. In a context dominated by under development, a growing need for democracy, interference between different regional guerrillas and upsurge of globalization in societies steeped in tradition, these two countries are facing parallel challenges.
The king of Nepal, who had suspended the democratic game in by seizing full powers, was obliged to restore a parliament within its prerogatives, under popular pressure. This was to prepare the election of a constituent assembly that could decide on the abolition of monarchy which the old Maoist rebels, who have recently entered the government, wished to get rid of.
The king of Bhutan presented a draft constitution in with the objective of transforming the regime into constitutional monarchy. Without waiting for the institutional changes that will happen in , he abdicated in favour of his heir Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, on the 14th December last year, opening a promising but equally uncertain period, for a population largely deprived of political culture.
The coincidence of these events throws new light on a region which is, from Kashmir to North-East India and across Tibet, an arc of proven or potential crises, and in which the two kingdoms are no longer zones of stability.
Monarchy in question While the Nepalese monarchy is the oldest of the two, it is also the most threatened. Although the king had made concessions, he had remained the key figure of the country, representing its historical continuity, national pride and religious identity. Several events precipitated his decline. Refusing to get involved with the problem of the monarchy and the political parties that were eaten away by corruption and factionalism, the Maoist rebellion planted in the minds of the people the idea that the regime was the first factor responsible for poverty, socio-economic inequalities, and the negation of ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of the country.
The assassination of king Birendra and seven members of his family by the heir to the throne on the 1st of June , who later committed suicide himself, was a double blow to the monarchy.
Taking away the sacred aura of a dynasty which though born out of divine essence has been decimated by a tragic event, this assassination has brought in its wake a new sovereign to the throne, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, younger brother of the previous one, whose authoritative enticements have led to increased unpopularity. Today entrenched in his palace, deprived of his prerogatives and ceremonials, the king seems to be living on borrowed time while waiting for the verdict of the ballot box.
The postponement of the elections initially planned for June and intended to form a constituent assembly, will prolong the transitory period, opened on the 1st of April with the formation of an intermediary government in which the old rebels participated. It is not ruled out that the dissensions between the traditional parties and these new-comers will perturb the institutional calendar once again.
Even though the monarchy is the only pivot likely to incarnate the continuity of the State, it does not seem to be in a position at this stage to take over, even if the transition process is currently marking time. It is totally different with the Bhutanese monarchy that has until now succeeded in maintaining its legitimacy by anticipating socio-economic changes before they could turn into popular claims.
Formed in , the only driving force behind the reform since the creation of the kingdom, it occupied the entire political space in a system where the protection of culture, anchored in Buddhist values, served as an ideology. By simultaneously renouncing absolutism for the country and the throne for himself, he had clearly shown his desire to take the kingdom into a new era.
Bhutan, although more peacefull than its neighbour, is however confronted with several challenges that could challenge the new regime.
Although stabilized, the pressure resulting from the presence of Indian guerillas who have used its territory as rear base until , in the southern frontiers of Bhutan, is likely to be reactivated especially as the appeal of the kingdom remains significant, particularly in demographic terms.
Finally and even if the Bhutanese society is less divided than its Nepalese neighbour, it is today confronted with issues that are likely to exacerbate claims and social tensions and, broadly speaking, increase the political conscience of the population : rural exodus; elevation of the average level of education and life style; rapid development of consumerism; growth of media ; saturation of the public sector incapable of recruiting new degree holders that a more and more reduced private sector cannot absorb; and indeed curbed rise in crime, prostitution and drug consumption.
The challenge of representativeness Involved in a comparable approach, the two countries are confronted with different issues.
Nepal, a social and cultural mosaic, where factionalism of the political class brings back the cast system, is looking for an improbable consensus. Bhutan, on the contrary, which functions already in the context of a consensus culture, inherited from the Buddhist tradition, should invent political pluralism without disturbing its social equilibrium.
The election of a constituent assembly, initially planned for the month of June, henceforth postponed, will condition the political future of Nepal. The fate of the monarchy that could be replaced by a republic is not the only question.
Nepal should also be equipped with local democratic and autonomous institutions. The clarification of the role and function of the army, transformation of the social composition of the parliament and administration are also part of the reforms required for the creation of a politically stable pole which will be but the starting point of thorough structural reforms that the national economy is in need of.
The political parties that are movements of executives or factions spearheaded by those worthy of notice in pursuit of recognition, in spite of seniority held by some of them, generally lack representativeness and have narrow grass root bases. While the Nepalese society is extremely diverse at the ethnic, linguistic and religious levels, the institutions and political class in general only portray a deformed image as if from a broken mirror, a situation particularly aggravated by political clashes, that have become the area of specialization of the country.
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