June 30, 2025
THIMPHU – While deliberating the Marriage (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan 2024 on June 25, the Joint Sitting of Parliament passed the amendment to Section Kha 1-11 of the Marriage Act to harmonise the minimum legal age for marriage, setting it at 18 years for both genders.
In the Marriage Act of Bhutan 1980, the minimum legal age for marriage was 18 for males and 16 for females. However, the irony is that the relevant laws in the country have implemented the legal age for marriage for females as 18 since the 1990s.
The joint session secured more than a two-thirds majority, with 49 in favour, 14 objecting, and two abstaining out of 65 members present and voting.
The Marriage (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan, 2024, originated from the National Assembly (NA) but became a disputed Bill after being rejected by the National Council (NC) in 2024.
The Bill failed to pass at the 34th Session of the NC on November 29, 2024, with 12 votes in favour, five against, and two abstentions out of 19 members present.
The Natural Resources and Environment Committee (NREC) of the NC who was entrusted to review the Bill accepted two provisions amended by the NA, but made further amendments to 14 provisions, and introduced nine new ones in the Bill. The Bill was not adopted by the NC on 13 provisions, primarily due to unclear language.
Following this disagreement between the two Houses, a Joint Committee was constituted pursuant to a Royal Kasho and in keeping with the procedure to deliberate on the disputed clauses, in accordance with Article 13, Section 8 of the Constitution, which states: “Where the House in which the Bill originated refuses to incorporate such amendments or objections of the other House, it shall submit the Bill to the Druk Gyalpo, who shall then command the Houses to deliberate and vote on the Bill in a joint sitting.”
The Joint Committee presented its report on June 25. However, as per procedure, only the clause on the marriageable age was deliberated, with a comprehensive review and amendment of the Marriage Act to be considered in the future.
NA Speaker Lungten Dorji advised the Members not to blame either the NA or the NC for not supporting or passing the Bill. He said that thorough discussion is necessary and that it does not matter whether the Bill is passed or not.
The Speaker added that once a Bill is introduced in either House, due process must be followed, and it cannot be dropped midway due to differing opinions.
NC Chairperson Sangay Dorji said that it was not necessary for the NA to seek Royal Assent just to change the marriageable age. He said that Dzongkha is the official language of Bhutan and the age for both genders is reflected as 18 in Dzongkha.
“Relevant laws have been implemented based on the Dzongkha version of the Act. The mistake was in the English version, where the age for females was inserted as 16,” he said.
Sangay Dorji said that Bhutan has 123 different laws and there could be mistakes when translating into English. He stressed that any laws in Dzongkha must be accepted as the dominant version.
He also said that there are many other provisions in the Marriage Act that deserve more deliberation, unlike the marriageable age, which is not an issue.
Joint Committee Member and Kengkhar-Weringla MP Dorji Wangmo said the marriageable age has remained 18 since 1996, but this was not clearly stated in the law. She said that to address this issue, an amendment is necessary.
Khamaed-Lunana MP Pema Drukpa said that setting the marriageable age at 18 for both genders would benefit children in getting timely census registration and access to education.
Tashi Chhozom, Eminent Member of the NC, said there is a legal principle known as the “last-in-time rule which says that when there is a conflict between two laws, the one enacted most recently takes precedence.
She said that even though the Marriage Act 1980 states the age for females as 16, other more recent laws prescribe 18 for both .