Launch of the monograph entitled “Principles of Criminal Law: A Treatise on the Penal Code of Bhutan”

We are pleased to announce that the monograph entitled “Principles of Criminal Law: A Treatise on the Penal Code of Bhutan” was launched at the opening of the Gross National Happiness and Criminal Law Conference on 11 November 2024 at the JSW School of Law in Bhutan by the Hon Lungten Dorji, Speaker of the Bhutan Legislative Assembly.

It is written by an international team of criminal law experts led by Stanley Yeo, CALS Adjunct Research Professor at NUS Law. He is joined by CALS Academic Fellow, Professor Michael Hor  of the University of Hong Kong, and Professors Chan Wing Cheong (SMU YPH School of Law) and Neil Morgan (University of Western Australia, both of whom were one-time members of the NUS Law Faculty, Professor Dema  Lham (JSW School of Law), and Ms Irene Morgan, Rapporteur of the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administration.

This book is the culmination of a four year project which began with Professor Yeo teaching in Bhutan’s only Law School, and involved the authors interviewing District Court Judges around the country, and conducting a workshop attended by legislators, prosecutors, and members of the criminal bar of Bhutan. The work organises and explains the principles of criminal law found in the provisions of the Bhutan Penal Code, offers a critical evaluation of the law, and proposes reforms which hope to clarify and improve the Code.

CALS is pleased to have contributed in the production of what is the first work of its kind in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and congratulates the team on their publication.