Fourth Attorney General 2020

Lungten Dubgyur was born in Lungtenphug, Thimphu, and hails from Pema Gatshel Dzongkhag. Mr. Dubgyur received his Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Economics from Sherubtse College in Kanglung, Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from Government of Law College in Bombay India, and Masters of Laws (LL.M) in Information Technology, Intellectual Property Law, Medical Jurisprudence and Public International Law from Edinburgh Law School in the United Kingdom.

In 1995, Mr. Dubgyur joined the Judiciary. He was amongst the first batch of legal professionals to undergo the Post Graduate Diploma in National (Bhutanese) Law. He served as a Justice of the High Court of Bhutan and demitted the Office on May 12, 2020, after the completion of his ten-year tenure following Article 21(13) of the Constitution, before he was appointed as the new Attorney General of Bhutan under the Hand and Seal of His Majesty the King, on July 20, 2020, by Article 29(2) of the Constitution of Bhutan.

Service Record:

1. 1st February 1995 -22nd February 1996: Trainee Legal Officer, High Court.
2. 15th March 1996 – May 1999: Registrar, Thimphu District Court.
3. The Year 1999 -2000: Secondment to the Department of Revenue and Customs (Ministry of Finance) for drafting the Direct and Indirect Taxation Act and Rules thereof.
4. June 1999 -2000: Appointed as the Project Director at the Royal Court of Justice, High Court to oversee judicial and justice sector reforms.
5. 16th January 2002: Appointed as a Drangpon Rabjam (Assistant Judge) at the High Court with additional responsibilities of the post of a Project Director.
6. 9th August 2002: Appointed as the Judge of the Phuntsholing Dungkhag Court and continued to serve as the Project Director.
7. 27th August 2003: Promoted as the District Court Judge at the Chukha Dzongkhag Court and continued to serve as the Project Director.
8. 27th February 2006: Transferred as the Judge of Samtse Dzongkhag Court from Chukha and continued to serve as the Project Director.
9. 8th March 2006 -12th May 2010: Transferred as the Judge of Paro Dzongkhag Court from Samtse and continued to serve as the Project Director.
10. 14th July -31st Dec. 2008: Mr. Dubgyur was attached on Secondment with the Office of Gyalpoi Zimpon (Royal Chamberlain) through the appointment order of His Majesty’s Secretariat as one of four members (Judge) – Special Legal Task Force (SLTF) to review, research and provide in-depth analysis of the appealed cases (which were the pending cases before the adoption of the Constitution) to His Majesty the King.
11. Later, Mr. Dubgyur was appointed by His Majesty’s Secretariat as one of the five members of the Royal Advisory Panel to His Majesty’s Secretariat after he was appointed as a Justice of the High Court.
12. Mr. Dubgyur served on duty as a member of the Office of Gyalpoi Zimpon Team during The Coronation of His Majesty the King in 2008 and The Royal Grand Wedding in 2013 of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen of Bhutan.
13. 8th -20th September 2014: Mr. Dubgyur completed the Executive De-Suung (the Guardian of the Peace) Training Program (13th Batch) held at Military Training Centre Tenchholiong, Wangdue Phodrang.
14. 7th January -8th February 2018: Mr. Dubgyur was nominated by His Majesty the King to attend the 9th Senior Executive Leadership Programme (SELP) at the Royal Institute of Governance and Strategic Studies (RIGSS) in Phuntsholing. 

Other Important Roles:

1. Mr. Dubgyur was one of the 39 members of the Constitution Drafting Committee. He was also involved in the drafting and translation of Taxation laws and Rules in Bhutan under the aegis of Revenue and Customs.
2. Mr. Dubgyur was involved in drafting the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code 2001, Penal Code of Bhutan 2004, and Election Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2008.
3. Mr. Dubgyur reviewed the Civil Society Organization Act 2007, and Disaster Management Act 2013 and was involved as a core committee member in the drafting of Child Care and Protection Act 2011, Child Adoption Act 2012, and Domestic Violence Prevention Act 2013.
4. Mr. Dubgyur drafted the overall Preliminary Strategy Paper (2006) and ICT Strategy Paper (2000) for the Judiciary of Bhutan.
5. Mr. Dubgyur also drafted Strategy Paper and Mediation Training Manual for the Bhutan National Legal Institute. He was later appointed by Her Royal Highness Ashi Sonam Dechan Wangchuck as one of the members to design courses on Jigme Singye Wangchuck (JSW) Law School and was a core member of the team that designed the pictorial depiction of the Constitution of Bhutan into a Thangka.
6. Mr. Dubgyur served as a member of the review team under the Royal Law Project on a project titled, “Introduction to Laws of Bhutan Vol-I” written by the Bhutan Law and Policy Project, a team from Stanford Law School, USA, 2012.
7. Mr. Dubgyur was the former member of the Board of Directors for Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy (BCMD) (2008-2010) and drafted its Bye-Law.
8. Besides judicial functions, Mr. Dubgyur held the additional responsibilities of the post of a Project Director of the Judiciary for several years and executed judicial reforms and rule of law projects such as infrastructure development (court constructions), human resource capacity building, professional development of judiciary and Royal Bhutan Police personnel through computerization, provisions of training and improved Case Management System (CMS) and Case Information System (CIS) in the judiciary.
9. Mr. Dubgyur represented Bhutan as one of the constitutional experts from the South Asia Region, on “Sharing of South Asian Experiences for Constitutional Building in Nepal” conducted by SAARC Law Nepal and International IDEA (12-13 April 2014). Comparative presentation and written opinion submitted to “The Constituent Assembly Committee of Constitutional Drafting of Nepal” on the assigned topic, “Constitution Building: The Forms of Governance”
10. Mr. Dubgyur, served as the Vice-Chair for the seven members of the National Law  Review Taskforce to review: on conflicting or duplicating provisions of laws; harmonization and consolidation of laws with the Constitution; identifying and conforming redundant laws for nullity, and the enactments or procedural amendment to strengthen the rule of laws. The Taskforce submitted 150 pages recommendations to the Government in January 2018 and is currently being debated by the Third Parliament of Bhutan.

Research, Publications, and Legal Dissemination:

1. Mr. Dubgyur, in a judicial career spanning 25 years, carried out numerous legal research and writings, which among others, includes authoring three books: (a) The Parasol of Silken Knot (2005); (b) Criminal Justice in Bhutan: A Handbook on Criminal Procedure (2006); and (c) The Wheel of Laws: An insight into the origin of Buddhist Kingship, Constitution, and Judicial independence in Bhutan (2016).
2. Mr. Dubgyur authored a Chapter on “Justice and Legal Institutions” in a book   titled: “A King’s Vision of Development for His Country and its People- A Tribute to His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo” published by the Literary and Publications Committee on the Occasion of 60th Birth Anniversary Celebration on 11  November 2015.
3. Mr. Dubgyur authored a Chapter on “Judiciary under His Majesty’s 10 years Reign” in a book titled: “A Decade on the Golden Throne” published to commemorate the 10 years of Golden Reign of His Majesty the Fifth Druk Gyalpo by Kuensel, December 2016. 
4. Mr. Dubgyur’s academic articles related to Bhutanese laws, Buddhist jurisprudence, and the Constitution have been published in various national forums such as the Centre for Bhutan Studies (CBS) journals, Bhutan Law Review journals under the aegis of Bhutan National Legal Institute (BNLI) and many summary research articles in “The Perspective” column in the national newspaper – Kuensel.
5. Mr. Dubgyur also published articles in the South Asian Journal on the “Overview of the making of Bhutan’s Constitution” and “Legal Awareness in Bhutan: Law and our Rights.”
6. Besides the above publications, Mr. Dubgyur has made several paper presentations, in international and national forums, on subjects such as core Constitutional Values, Comparative Laws, Internet Regulations, Judicial and Legislative Reforms, Human Rights and Equality Issues, Issues related International Terrorism, Child and Women Justice, Legislative and Media Accountability, ADR and on Civil Society Organization Act.
7. Mr. Dubgyur also delivered on-call visiting lectures at Sherubtse College in Kanglung, Institute of Language and Cultural Studies in Taktsi, and the Royal Thimphu College in Thimphu, on topical issues related to legal issues ranging from democracy and rule of law including Cyberspace regulation, Internet (online) Crimes, and the Historical Basis and influence of Buddhism on Criminal Trials.
8. Mr. Dubgyur, over the years, has taught Company Law, Law of Property, Law of Evidence, Procedural laws, and the Penal Code of Bhutan to students undergoing Post Graduate Diploma in National Law (PGDNL) at the Royal Institute of Management.  
9. Mr. Dubgyur conducted a Mediation training course for the Lawyers and Local Government officials on “ADR and Negotiations: Mediation skills” at the Institution of Management Studies Limited, Thimphu. (24-28 April 2017)
10. Mr. Dubgyur also served as the judicial focal person in the dissemination of laws, judicial and legal information to the general public. He conducted Radio program on Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) and Kuzu FM and included talk show  related to the Constitution, Democracy and the Rule of Law including the detailed explanation on the aspects of Procedural (Civil & Criminal Code & Evidence Act 2005) and Substantive Laws (Thrimzhung Chhenmo, Land, Inheritance, Marriage Acts, etc.) and the detailed explanation of the Constitution by Articles and the history of the Constitution-Making in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Dubgyur served as one of the members of the Advisory Board of  Kuzu FM (2011-2015).

Awards Received:

1. Coronation Silver Medal of His Majesty the King -2008
2. Bronze and Silver Medals for completion of 10 years and twenty years of judicial service.
3. Distinguished Alumnus Award by Mumbai University, India -1^st March 2014.

• Click here to download the English pdf version of the Hon’ble Attorney General’s CV.
• Click here to download the Dzongkha version.