Tibetan Parliament votes against amendment to Charter on qualifications of Justice Commissioners of TSJC and oath-taking 

DHARAMSALA, 23 March: The 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile(TPIE) today voted against two major amendments to the Charter of Tibetans in exile, which could spell trouble soon.

Amendment on the Charter of Tibetans in exile’s Article 63 (II), ‘Justice Commissioners of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission’ and the amendment on the Charter of Tibetans in exile’s Article 25, Article 45 (II), Article 47, Article 63 (III), Article 97 (II), Article 101 (III), and Article 107 (II) on the oath-taking of the Sikyong & the Kalons, the Speaker & the Deputy Speaker, Parliamentarians, the Chief Justice Commissioner & the Justice Commissioners, the Chief Election Commission,  the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, and the Auditor General of the Office of the Auditor failed to pass through Parliament as the ghost of Resolution No. 39 an official motion passed by the 16th TPIE in March 2021 to impeach the Chief Justice Commissioner and the two Justice Commissioners of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission(TSJC) continues to haunt the lawmakers. 

The Kashag’s amendment to the Charter which relates to the qualification of the Chief Justice Commissioner and the other two Justice Commissioners presented by the CTA President Penpa Tsering and seconded by CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations(DIIR) Minister Norzin Dolma and the standing committee of the TPIE’s amendment to the Charter which relates to the oath-taking of the Sikyong(President) and the Kalons, the Speaker & the Deputy Speaker, Parliamentarians, the Chief Justice Commissioner & the Justice Commissioners, the Chief Election Commission,  the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and the Auditor General of the Office of the Auditor which was proposed by Parliamentarian Tsering Yangchen and supported by Parliamentarian Serta Tsultrim both failed to pass through the parliament unable to secure the two-thirds support in the house required to amend the charter.

For the uninitiated, a three-member committee constituted in accordance with the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile conceded defeat in finding nominees for the Chief Justice Commissioner of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission with the qualifications mandated by the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile in March last year.

Apart from being “a citizen of Tibet” and having “completed the age of 50 years” as mandated in Article 63 (2) a and b, the clause c requires nominees for “the Chief Justice Commissioner and the other two Justice Commissioners of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission must have been a judge in any court for a continuous period of 5 years or has been an experienced advocate standing for at least 10 years.”

Article 63 (2) came into effect as the charter stated that after 30 years from the coming into force of this Charter, the provisions of this sub-clause( Article 63 (2) c) on the appointment of the Chief Justice Commissioner and the other two Justice Commissioners needs to be adhered to.

As the Tibetan parliament adopted the Charter on 14 June 1991 which was approved by the Dalai Lama on 28 June 1991 and it has been over 30 years since the charter came into force, the Charter now needs to be amended to fill the vacant seat of the Chief Justice Commissioner.

As a result of the failure to pass the amendments in the parliament today, the CTA will soon have more trouble in finding a new Chief Justice Commissioner as the acting Chief Justice Commissioner will retire in June with no clarity on how the new Auditor General of the Office of the Auditor of CTA will take the oath of office as the incumbent Auditor General will also retire from office in May. 

The TPIE holds its session twice every year with an interval of six months, a budget session in March and a general session in September.