Enhancing Legislative Drafting and Processes in the Parliament of Bhutan 

International IDEA and the Parliamentary Centre of Canada jointly implement a project that supports the democratic developments in Bhutan through capacity building of members of the parliament and its staff.

Under this collaboration, a Legislative Drafting and Legislative Process training seminar recently took place in Thimphu, Bhutan, and was carried out by Edgar Schmidt, an experienced legislative drafter and trainer from Canada, who has also assisted other countries with projects of the Parliamentary Centre.

The training combined a series of presentations related to the legislative process and drafting with practical exercises. The hands-on exercises also provided an opportunity to put into practice legislative preparation techniques. Participants were given specific drafting assignments to work on for several days. At the end of the training, they received feedback on their proposals from Mr. Schmidt and their colleagues.

Participants said the program greatly improved their knowledge of the legislative process and taught them highly relevant skills that can be applied to their profession. The vast majority of the 32 trainees said they had never received any prior training on the subject nor do they have any legal educational background.

Of the 32 participants, 11 were lawmakers and seven were women.

The Parliament of Bhutan has expressed interest in receiving continued support from International IDEA and the Parliamentary Centre, saying the development of a legislative drafting manual for lawmakers and more in-depth practical training on legislative drafting techniques are key to strengthening the Parliament

“In the future, all aspects of legislative drafting should be covered, in the absence of a proper drafting manual in Bhutan, it is better to incorporate all aspects of legislative drafting and drafting exercise,” said Kinley Tenzin, Deputy Chief Legal Officer from the National Council of Bhutan.

The training is under the “Bhutan Parliamentary Support” project supported by the Government of Norway, which aims to build up the capacity of the Parliamentary Secretariats by offering various professional services to the members of the National Assembly of Bhutan (NAB) and National Council of Bhutan (NCB). The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently approved more funding to International IDEA’s support to Bhutan until mid-2016.