CCPC

• Court

  The chamber, hall, building, or other place where judicial proceedings are held
• Court of law


  A person or body of persons having judicial authority to hear and resolve disputes in civil, criminal, ecclesiastical, or military cases
• Definition of court


  • An authority having power to adjudicate in civil, criminal, military, or ecclesiastical matters
  • The judge or judges having such authority
  • A place where regular sitting of a judicial authority occurs
  • The room or building in which a judicial authority sits also known as Courtroom or Court House
  • Also known as Bench (A forum of justice comprised of the judge or judges of a court or the seat of the court occupies) and lawyers are known as Bar and hence, Bar and Bench
• Basic functions of court

  • To maintain peace and order
  • To decide or settle disputes/cases
  • To make laws
  • To review of administrative actions
  • To interpret laws
  • To enforce laws/judgments
  • To issue writs
  • Oversight functions (Judicial activism)
• Types of courts


  • Criminal Courts
  • Civil Courts
  • Trial Courts
  • Appellate Courts
  • Courts of Limited Jurisdictions (Specialized courts-Constitutional Courts, Juvenile Courts, Family Courts, Small Causes courts, traffic courts,)
  • Transnational Courts (European Court of Justice, International Criminal Court)
• Officers of the court

  • Judge
  • Justice
  • Lawyers
  • Bench Clerks
  • Attorney
  • Prosecutor
  • Solicitor
  • Barrister
  • The juror
  • Advocates
  • Legal Counsels
  • Defense Counsels
• Parties in the court

  • Complainant/plaintiff vs Defendant (Civil Case)
  • Prosecutor vs Defendant (Criminal Case )
  • Appellant vs Respondent (In Appeal)
  • Litigators (Civil case)
  • Witness (Evidence part)
  • Experts (Evidence part)
• Jurisdiction


  The authority to adjudicate the case authorized by law
• UNIT: I UNDERSTANDING THE PROCEDURAL LAW
• Types of jurisdiction


  • By Nature of case (Civil, Criminal)
  • By Area (Territorial, Extra-territorial, Transnational)
  • By substance (Pecuniary, Subject matter)
  • By Hierarchy of courts (Original, Appellate, Special)
  • Of person and of property (In personam, In rem)
  • Supplementary
  • Ancillary
  • Advisory
  • Technological /cyber
• CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PROCEDURAL LAW
• Civil suit


  A lawsuit alleging violations of civil law by the defendant
• Procedure


  The official or formal order or way of doing something, especially in business, law or politics. It can mean 'ways", "means" "Methods", "Steps" "stages"
• Locus standi


  The right or ability to bring a legal action to a court of law, or to appear in a court
• Procedural law


  Law that establishes the rules of the court and the methods used to ensure the rights of individuals in the court system. It regulates the conduct of Courts and litigants in respect of the litigation itself where as Substantive law determines their conduct and relations in respect of the matters litigated
• Who has locus standi in Bhutan


  • A litigant himself/herself
  • A member of his/her family
  • A jabmi of his/her choice
• In Summary, Procedural Law

  • Set of rules as a part of the Legal System
  • They are the tools the Judges use for applying substantive Law and rules to a case
  • Provide ways of proceedings (procedure stages and steps, time limits, etc.)
  • Procedural Law is the Law governing the machinery of the Courts and the methods by which both the State and the individual enforce their rights in the different types of Courts and Jurisdictions
  • It is a means to an end
  • Reconstructing the past, telling a story etc.
• Class action suit


  A lawsuit in which a group of people with the same or similar injuries caused by the same product or action sue the defendant as a group
• Differences of Procedural Law in Common Law and Civil Law tradition

  • Role of a Judge (Minimal Role –Referee like role vs Develop evidence and expositions)
  • Witnesses examination (Directly cross-examined by Lawyers vs Directly by Judges)
  • Hearings (Longer hearing, pre-trial and trial stages vs Short-hearings to develop evidence)
  • Mode (Fully decentralized vs Fully centralized)
  • Jury (Generally jury trial vs Rarely jury is present)
  • System (Adversarial vs Inquisitorial)
  • Standard of proof (In civil cases, generally less requirement vs Higher standard of proof is required)
  • Example countries (USA, UK, India, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia vs Germany, Japan, Latin America, France, Italy, Spain)
• Purpose of class action suit

  • The class action vehicle is used generally when a number of people have suffered the same or similar injuries, often minor, such that they might not pursue legal redress on their own
  • If the number of people affected is high, it becomes impractical or even impossible for them to file individual lawsuits
• Procedural originates in Bhutan from Thrimzhung Chhenmo
• Opting in


  Every person who would be affected by the court's decision in the class action is entitled to notice that the action has started, and then have the opportunity to join in the action
• The Existing Procedural Law in Bhutan


  • Civil and Criminal Procedure Code of Bhutan, 2001
  • Amended in 2011
  • Second Amendment (Currently undergoing amendment)
• Some of the major laws containing procedural provisions

  • Forest and Nature Conservation Act 1995
  • Road Safety and Transport Act 1999
  • Sales, Tax and Customs Excise Act 2000
  • Medicines Act 2003
  • Food Act 2005
  • Immigration Act 2007
  • Royal Bhutan Police Act 2009
  • Tobacco control Act 2010
  • The Anti-Corruption Act of Bhutan 2011
  • Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substance and Substance Abuse Act 2015
• If the number of people affected by the product or conduct is high, it becomes impractical or even impossible for them to file individual lawsuits
• Named plaintiff


  Representative plaintiff in a class action lawsuit
• Significance of procedural law

  • Mere defining rights and obligations is not enough
  • It is important to know how to enforce these rights and duties
  • The enforcement must be in a systematic and formal way
  • The systematic and formal way can be ensuring fairness, unbiased, efficiently and expeditiously
  • There must be uniformity in how the laws are applied
  • Every case/dispute must be proved or disproved. This can be done mainly on the basis FACTS, EVIDENCES AND LAWS
  • It is only through Procedural laws which can ensure the systematic determination of these three things in order to reach the conclusion
  • This may be enforced according to the substantive laws in place such as crime and sanctions, civil or private rights and duties
• Lead plaintiff


  Representative plaintiff in a class action lawsuit
• Two ways to apply the procedural laws

  • One system centralizes responsibility for developing and deciding disputes and maintaining some consistencies in legal rules, giving primary responsibilities to the state particularly the judiciary-civil law tradition (Inquisitorial System)
  • Other system decentralizes the responsibilities on the parties and their representatives a primary responsibilities for presenting factual evidence and legal arguments and also use Jury to decide on the basis of the facts of the case-common law tradition (Adversarial System)
• Opting in


  1. Notice to potential class members

  2. Opportunity for people to join the class action lawsuit
• Substantive law


  Refers to the actual claims and defences whose validity is tested through the procedures of procedural Law
• In some cases, individuals don't have the opportunity to opt out of a class action lawsuit
• Procedural law


  Comprises the rules by which a Court hears and determines the result of a civil, criminal or administrative proceeding
• Class action lawsuit


  • Brings together and disposes of thousands of claims at one time that are impractical to litigate individually
  • Makes the process much more efficient
• CHAPTER 2 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PROCEDURAL LAW
• If the defendant wins the class action lawsuit, the individuals in the group are prohibited from filing new or individual lawsuits over the same issue against the same defendant
• Access to Justice


  • It represents only the formal ability to appear in court
  • It is an inherent right of the person unlike right to appeal
  • It includes rights like: appear in court, right to legal aid, procedural law, right to fair trial
• If the class of plaintiffs wins the class action lawsuit, the court finds the defendant liable for the plaintiffs' injuries, and the amount of recovery is later divided among the plaintiffs
• Due Process of Law

  • A course of legal proceedings according to rules and principles that have been established in a system of jurisprudence for the enforcement and protection of private rights
  • In each case, due process contemplates an exercise of the powers of government as the law permits and sanctions, under recognized safeguards for the protection of individual rights
  • Due process may also be called Fair trial or fair procedure
• Class action lawsuit


  • It is cost effective because it lowers the often-high cost of litigation
  • It seeks to ensure that all injured plaintiffs receive something, even if it is not an amount to fully cover damages