Thimpu: Two law clerk posts in the Supreme Court will be offered annually to law graduates from Bhutan, Chief Justice of India B R Gavai said in Thimpu on Saturday, during an interaction with students and faculty of the JSW School of Law.
Among those present were Princess Sonam Dechen Wangchuck and Chief Justice of Bhutan, Justice Norbu Tshering.
CJI Gavai emphasised the values of compassion, wisdom, and ethical responsibility within legal education during his address, ANI reported. The law clerk positions are part of an ongoing initiative to strengthen academic engagement and professional collaboration between the judiciaries of the two nations, he said.
The news agency reported that the Chief Justice met King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck during his official visit to the country on Saturday. He had met Bhutan’s Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay on Friday.
The CJI is said to have discussed avenues for enhancing cooperation between the two countries’ judiciaries during these meetings and reaffirmed the commitment to strengthen India-Bhutan relations. CJI Gavai also expressed the Indian judiciary’s readiness to support the Bhutanese judiciary in areas such as technology integration, capacity building, and knowledge exchange.
The Ministry of External Affairs has said that India and Bhutan share unique and exemplary bilateral relations, which are based on mutual trust, goodwill and understanding. Formal diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968. The basic framework of India-Bhutan relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries, which was renewed in February 2007.
“India and Bhutan share an exemplary partnership characterised by trust, goodwill, mutual understanding at all levels, and strong bonds of friendship and close people-to-people ties,” the MEA said in a statement.
The Government of India (GoI) has committed support of INR/Nu. 10,000 Crore (100 billion) for Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2024-2029), which would cover Project Tied Assistance (PTA) projects, High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP), support for the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) and budgetary support in the form of a Programme Grant, the MEA said.
