Constitution

Bhutan 2008 Constitution

Article 35. Amendment & Authoritative Text

  1. Subject to the provision of section 26 of Article 2 and section 9 of Article 33, Parliament shall have the power to amend by way of addition, variation, or repeal the provisions of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure set out in this Article.
  2. A motion to amend the Constitution under section 1 of this Article shall be initiated by a simple majority of the total number of members of Parliament at a joint sitting and, on being passed by not less than three-fourths of the total number of members in the next session at a joint sitting of Parliament, the Constitution shall stand amended on Assent being granted by the Druk Gyalpo.
  3. Parliament may call for a National Referendum if, in its opinion, a Constitutional Bill, which is not granted Assent by the Druk Gyalpo is of national importance. Accordingly, sections 1, 3 and 4 of Article 34 shall apply.
  4. In any instance of a difference in meaning between the Dzongkha and the English texts of this Constitution, each text shall be regarded as equally authoritative and courts shall reconcile the two texts.