Join us on July 18, 2024, at 2 p.m. EDT for another entry into the Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar Series for 2024, “Laws on Happiness: The Legal System and Legislation of Bhutan.”
Please register here.
This entry in the series will be presented by a guest speaker, Professor Ugyen Thinley, Library Director of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law located in Paro, Bhutan. In addition to providing this webinar, Professor Thinley will be spending a week at the Law Library of Congress reviewing and making recommendations regarding our collections for Bhutan and assisting staff in updating our research guide for Bhutan.
The idea of Gross National Happiness as a guiding principle for the government reaches back centuries in Bhutan. The penal code of Bhutan states: “the purpose of the government is to provide happiness to its people. If we cannot provide happiness, there is no reason for the government to exist.”
In this webinar, Professor Ugyen Thinley will discuss how the above statement is implemented in Bhutanese legislation. He will review the history of reflecting happiness in the nation’s laws and give an overview of the current legal system and legal resources.
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