Re-deliberating the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2019 at the National Assembly today, Members of Parliament (MP) were divided on whether to repeal the sections proposed by the National Council or keep as it is.
The Legislative Committee presented its recommendations on the repeal sections proposed by the National Council. Despite disagreeing on most of the clauses, the House passed the Penal Code Amendment Bill.
Some of the members expressed that repealing the sections from the Penal Code would avoid confusions as it is already provided in the parent acts. Repealing would bring more clarity for the law practitioners and avoid duplication.
“The reason to repeal some of the clauses from the penal code is that most of the clauses that need to be repealed have a parent act. If any problem arises, then the parent act will cover it. But if any of the clause in the Penal Code does not have a parent act then it has to follow the penal code. And the clauses that we are proposing to repeal which are already covered in other Acts,” said Tshewang Lhamo, the chairperson of the Legislative Committee
“As others said, the Penal Code has to be a mother of all acts and laws. But firstly, the clauses that need to be repealed for deliberation has come from the National Law Review Task Force and we believe and trust them for they are experts. In addition, repeal sections proposed by the National Council has to be respected for it is a House of Review. Moreover, this is not the first time that this is happening. In the past, some of the clauses were repealed and some not. This inconsistency will lead to problems later,” added Tenzin, the Khatoed Laya MP.
However, a few of the members articulated and justified that retaining the clauses would only reinforce the significance of the Penal Code Amendment Bill.
“If we are to repeal most of the sections thinking that it’s going to be duplication of other Acts then the Penal Code of Bhutan will lose its value. And because of this, there are chances that the basis and importance of the Act will be lost. As per experts, the Penal Code of any country is substantive law,” said Dorji Wangdi, the Panbang MP.
“If we are to repeal almost all the clauses from the penal code, I am afraid we are going to have no Penal Code of Bhutan in the future. I believe that other Acts need to follow penal code and not the other way round,” added Passang Dorji (PhD), the Bartsham Shongphu MP.
Following an in depth deliberation on the recommendations, the House endorsed 24 of the 56 amendments recommended by the National Council. The House did not support the National Council’s recommendations of amendment on the sections related to Crime against public election, value-based sentencing, child in conflict with law, rape, grading of rape and related offences, unnatural sex, grading of unnatural sex, grading of burglary, market abuse, clandestine foreign investment, grading of clandestine foreign investment, fronting, grading of fronting, entrapment and grading of an illegal document.
The disputed clauses will be referred to the Joint Committee formed between the two Houses.
Sonam Pem/Sangay Chezom
