I will neither fail nor falter : CJ Posted: 28 Dec 2009 02:50 AM PST The nomination of the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court came through when His Majesty, on December 17, accepted the six-member royal commission's nominee, 60-year-old former Chief Justice, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye, who superannuated on November 15. Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye served the country for 38 years, 18 and a half years in the judiciary. He talks to Sonam Pelden about his new responsibilities and the future of the judiciary. Q. How do you feel about being appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bhutan? Did you have any capable candidates in mind? No, I had no candidates in mind. When I left the judiciary, I closed my mind and never thought about it. And as a Buddhist, I didn't want to have any attachment to the past, nor did I have any wish or desire for others. Q. What are your immediate responsibilities? Q. When would the National Judicial Commission be formed? How would it look like? What would be its function? The constitution is very clear. There will be a four-member national judicial commission – senior most justice from the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the Chairman of the legislative committee. Chief Justices will be ex-officio. Now the missing link is the senior most justice of the Supreme Court, but I am sure we will be able to solve that problem. Q. The constitution states that a Chief Justice of Bhutan shall be appointed by the Druk Gyalpo in consultation with the National Judicial Commission. We didn't have any such commission. Could the six-member royal commission have served the purpose? Therefore, we should not have a shred of doubt. There had to be a way of appointing a Chief Justice, and this was a great way of doing it. Q. Since the Supreme Court is the custodian and final interpreter of the constitution, do you think that the appointment of the Chief Justice was timely, or was it late? Political space is very necessary for maturing of democracy. Not appointing a Chief Justice last year or the year before was very good. But to delay it further would have perhaps aggravated the situation. Therefore, the time was absolutely correct. Q. When would the Chief Justice of the High Court be appointed? Q. Does it mean promotions for the judges of district courts? Q. The Supreme Court is still under construction. How would the Chief Justice and the Drangpoens function without a proper office in place? Nevertheless, the new buildings of the Supreme Court will not be too far away. By June or July, we should be able to function from there. At least the Chief Justice's chamber will be ready by then. Q. There is a shortage of Drangpoens and support staff in the courts today. How would you address this problem? We have about 40 lawyers in the judiciary. We will not totally replace the old generation because we have to create some options for the people. Bhutan was never revolutionary. We have always interfaced and this wisdom must be carried forward by us. We have enough professionals. Q. Would the functioning of the judiciary be any different with the establishment of the Supreme Court? One of the negative aspects of the judiciary in the past was that the people had taken advantage of the appeal system either by delaying or harassing the opponent. This problem should be and will be addressed by the Supreme Court of Bhutan. So, justice will not be a refuge of the scoundrels and process of manipulation. Supreme Court must work very hard on this. This is the appeal procedure. Q. What are some of the downfalls, concerns or challenges you see with the courts and their functioning today? How would you reform them? We had judges being appointed from outside the judiciary. While they brought a positive impact by bringing new ideas and experiences, they also had some negative impacts. They took time to acquaint themselves with the law and the procedure. They had some inherited habits from the administration because administration and administration of justice are slightly different. We often had justices who didn't get along. Because of this, we were not able to make reforms as fast as possible. Generally, new judges coming from outside the judiciary take about three years to learn the job. To a great extent, most of my time was spent on building the team. Therefore, the constitution has rightly said that they must be jurists or from the system because the Supreme Court must work on collegium. Internal disagreement is good for inter-democracy but sometimes, it spills over the other way. Many chief justices have this problem, and I had a fair share of it. The problems weren't negative because there was a process of appeal to His Majesty but now the Supreme Court can't afford to have people being appointed with backing and with their wishes. We have to think of justice system in the country. I am now constitutionally responsible to see that these don't happen. It is my responsibility to see that the same mistake is not made. I have no excuse. Q. As the Chief Justice of the High Court, you brought major reforms in the judicial system of the country. What would your biggest challenge be as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? In future, I can't really say just now. Only thing I can say is that we have been given the historic responsibility and we must neither falter nor fail. Our conscious must be free. I want to leave after my tenure with free conscience as I had on the day I left on November 15. I hope to succeed. I will try my best. None should fear me. Note: Full texts reproduced from the Bhutan Oberver, Dec 28, 2009 |
Tsirang readying for electricity Posted: 28 Dec 2009 02:35 AM PST Dec 28: The electrification in Tsirang is gaining momentum in the recent years, as government prepared for extension of power supply to rural areas as well. The residents of Dunglagang and Shemjong blocks in Tsirang district are hiring electricians for internal wiring in their houses with hopes to receive power supply within next year. This has benefited the suppliers of wires, tubes, bulbs, sockets, and other electrical equipment. Few electricians, who received two-months training from the government, of the villages seem to get busy with the start of the New Year. Till date, the villagers depend on lamp lit through kerosene for lightning purposes. The villagers also expressed happiness that they would be able to charge their mobiles at home, which until now had to purchase batteries on exhaustion. Electrification of the 262 households in Shemjong in expected to complete in seven months and 332 households in Dunglagang in 10 months. |
Another resettled Bhutanese hit by a car Posted: 27 Dec 2009 11:03 PM PST
Nov 27: Tikaram Koirala met an accident on the night of December 27 while he was returning from his work. According to an eyewitness, a speedy car hit him from the back. He was immediately rushed to the hospital. According to medical report, his backbone is damaged besides getting a leg and a hand fractured. Koirala, a former refugee from Beldangi-II Extension camp, is undergoing treatment at Intensive Care Unit. News and photo have been submitted by Arun Dhungel from the USA |
