Capital punishment in Bhutan
Encyclopedia
In Bhutan
, capital punishment
has been abolished since March 20, 2004 and is currently prohibited by the 2008 Constitution
. The prohibition appears among a number of fundamental rights
guaranteed by the Bhutanese Constitution. While some fundamental rights are guaranteed only to citizens of Bhutan — voting, land ownership, and equal pay for example — the prohibition on capital punishment applies to all people within Bhutan.
by the first King of Bhutan Ugyen Wangchuck
, capital punishment was the penalty for murderers who fled the scene and for those who forged government documents. Under the National Security Act of 1992, the death penalty is designated for those guilty of "treasonable acts" or of overt acts "with intent to give aid and comfort to the enemy in order to deliberately and voluntarily betray" the royal government.
On April 5, 1964, Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji
was assassinated in a dispute among competing political factions. The King's own uncle and head of the Royal Bhutan Army
, Namgyal Bahadur, was among those executed for their role in the attempted coup.
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
has been abolished since March 20, 2004 and is currently prohibited by the 2008 Constitution
Constitution of Bhutan
The Constitution of Bhutan was enacted July 18, 2008 by the Royal Government. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan...
. The prohibition appears among a number of fundamental rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
guaranteed by the Bhutanese Constitution. While some fundamental rights are guaranteed only to citizens of Bhutan — voting, land ownership, and equal pay for example — the prohibition on capital punishment applies to all people within Bhutan.
History
Under the reforms to the Tsa YigTsa Yig
The Tsa Yig is any monastic constitution or code of moral discipline based on codified Tibetan Buddhist precepts. Every Tibetan monastery and convent had its own Tsa Yig, and the variation in Tsa Yig content shows a degree of autonomy and internal democracy....
by the first King of Bhutan Ugyen Wangchuck
Ugyen Wangchuck
Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck was the first King of Bhutan from 1907 to 1926.He was born in 1862 to Jigme Namgyal, penlop of Trongsa and Ashi Pema Choki. He succeeded his father as Penlop of Trongsa...
, capital punishment was the penalty for murderers who fled the scene and for those who forged government documents. Under the National Security Act of 1992, the death penalty is designated for those guilty of "treasonable acts" or of overt acts "with intent to give aid and comfort to the enemy in order to deliberately and voluntarily betray" the royal government.
On April 5, 1964, Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji
Jigme Palden Dorji
Jigme Palden Dorji was a Bhutanese politician and member of the Dorji family. By marriage, he was also a member of the House of Wangchuck....
was assassinated in a dispute among competing political factions. The King's own uncle and head of the Royal Bhutan Army
Royal Bhutan Army
The Royal Bhutan Army , or RBA, is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty against security threats. The King of Bhutan is the Supreme Commander in Chief of the RBA...
, Namgyal Bahadur, was among those executed for their role in the attempted coup.
See also
- Law enforcement in Bhutan
- Human rights in BhutanHuman rights in BhutanIn general, the status of human rights in Bhutan is good. The greatest concern is the status of Bhutanese refugees and the protection of the Lhotshampa Nepalese minority remaining in Bhutan...
- Religion and capital punishmentReligion and capital punishmentMost major world religions take an ambiguous position on the morality of capital punishment. Religions are often based on a body of teachings and the standards of present-day Western civilization, and the Old Testament, as well as the Qur'an, contains many cases of criminals being executed...
- Judicial system of BhutanJudicial system of BhutanThe judicial system of Bhutan is the purview of the Royal Court of Justice, the judicial branch of the government of Bhutan under the Constitution of 2008...
- Constitution of BhutanConstitution of BhutanThe Constitution of Bhutan was enacted July 18, 2008 by the Royal Government. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan...