Instead of amending 16 clauses of the Marriage Act 1980, the National Assembly decided to formulate a new bill, altogether.
NA’s Women, Children and Youth Committee had proposed the amendments during the third reading, today.
The committee said the draft for the new act is ready if the NA MPs want to discuss.
However, the members decided to discuss the draft in the coming summer session.
The Members of the National Assembly said the marriage act overlaps Penal Code of Bhutan, Child Adoption Act of Bhutan and Inheritance Act of Bhutan.
“Since all these acts are interrelated, they all should be amended within the same time frame,” said Panbang MP, Dorji Wangdi.
The existing marriage act was amended four times since its first enactment in 1980.
Foreign Minister, Damcho Dorji said the marriage act is difficult to interpret even for judges and lawyers. He said common people will find it tough to follow.
The Committee’s Chairperson MP Tshewang Jurmi said even the penalty incurred for flouting the act is not relevant to today’s time. He said it has to be upgraded.
