The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Recent statistics from judiciary of Bhutan 2024 reveals impressive disposal rates, with a significant percentage of 88. Altogether, courts received 9,839 cases and resolved 8,655 cases in 2024.
Dzongkhag courts received a total of 6,987 cases and resolved 6,274 cases, a disposal rate of 90%. 711 cases are pending and 66 cases were pending over 12 months. Additionally, 377 cases were appealed to the High Court.
Thimphu Dzongkhag Court received the highest cases with 2,520 cases, resolved 2,168 cases and had 352 pending cases. 62 cases are pending beyond 12 months and 165 cases were appealed to the High Court.
Thimphu Dzongkhag Commercial Bench II, reported the highest number of pending cases at 149 from total of 632 registered cases. 53 cases were pending beyond 12 months and 17 cases were appealed to high court.
There are 20 Dzongkhag Courts in the country, Thimphu has 5 benches, criminal bench, family bench, commercial bench I and II, and civil bench. Both Paro and Wangdue have 2 benches each.
The Dungkhag Courts received 2,078 cases, resolving 1,703 cases, resulting in an 82% disposal rate. 375 cases are pending and 94 cases are exceeding the 12-month timeline. A total of 77 cases from Dungkhag Courts were appealed to Dzongkhag Courts.
The Phuentsholing Dungkhag Bench II had the highest cases, with 552 (26.5% of the total cases) cases, 403 were resolved and 149 are pending cases. 71 cases were pending beyond 12 months and 5 cases were appealed to the Dzongkhag court.
Subsequently, Gelephu Dungkhag Court, received 440 (21.17% of the total cases) cases, decided 377 cases and 63 are pending. 36 cases were appealed to Dzongkhag Court.
Phuentsholing Dungkhag Court’s Bench I, received 384 (18.4% of the total cases) cases, decided 295 cases and 89 are pending case. 21 cases were pending beyond 12 months and 18 appealed to Dzongkhag Court.
In total there are 15 Dungkhag Courts in Bhutan. Only Phuntsholing has 2 bench.
High Court (HC) received 531 cases, resolving 492 cases with a disposal rate of 93%. 39 cases remain pending. HC affirmed 253, fully reversed 29, partially reversed 186 cases, 3 are in remand, negotiated settlement on 7, 12 were withdrawn and they dismissed 2 cases.
The HC appealed 177 cases to Supreme Court. 111 cases from Reldri bench and 66 from Khorlo bench.
Meanwhile, Alternative Dispute Resolution Center appealed 22 cases to HC.
The Supreme Court (SC) received a total of 243 cases, resolving 186 cases and leaving 58 pending. Only 1 case remains pending beyond 12 months. It accounted to a disposal rate of 77%.
SC affirmed 67 cases, 7 are fully reversed, 52 partially reversed and 74 were dismissed. SC consist of four benches namely Langchen, Tachog, Maja, and Khading bench.
A total of 2,244 cases were mediated. 1,951 cases of Dzongkhag Court, 290 of Dungkhag Court and 3 at HC.
2024 saw a decrease in pending cases with a total of 1,183 pending case and 161 cases pending beyond 12 months, 2023 recorded 1,621 pending cases with 179 pending beyond 12 months, 2022 with 1,779 pending cases and 64 pending beyond 12 months, 2021 with 1,806 cases and 100 pending beyond 12 months, and 2020 with 2,873 pending and 342 pending beyond 12 months.
The report suggests that low appeal rates, 4.52% for Dungkhag Courts and 6.01% for Dzongkhag Courts indicates high-quality initial judgments, effective case management, and overall judicial efficiency, which can reduce the burden on higher courts and save both time and money for litigants.
However, it is important to examine these figures in context, as very low appeal rates might also point to potential issues such as limited awareness of appeal rights or barriers to accessing higher courts, rather than solely reflecting genuine satisfaction with the decisions.
