Tashi Chhozom

Tashi Chhozom (Dzongkha: བཀྲིས་ཆོས་འཛོམས་) is a Bhutanese lawyer and jurist who became the first woman appointed to the country's Supreme Court in 2012. In 2023, Chhozom was appointed to serve as one of five eminent members of the National Council of Bhutan.

Education

Chhozom was a Hubert Humphrey fellow at the Washington College of Law, American University in Washington, D.C. from 2005–2006.[1][2] She was hosted by Professor Stephen Wermiel and studied the juvenile court system and women's issues.[3]

Chhozom has a Master of Laws from Queensland University of Technology, Australia (2010), and received the university's Special Excellence Award in 2013.[4]

Career

Chhozom served as a judge in various district courts, the first woman to do so.[3] She also served on the High Court,[5] and as chairperson of the Royal Judicial Service Council.[6] She has taken a special interest in women's issues and juvenile cases, and worked to established a separate juvenile court system in Bhutan.[3]

Chhozom was appointed to the Supreme Court on 3 August 2012 for a ten-year term and was administered the oath of office and secrecy on 12 September.[7] She is the court's first and only female judge.[4][8] She is also the youngest member of the court.[2][9]

In both 2013 and 2015, Chhozom received the Royal Civil Service award from Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.[5]

In 2023, Chhozom was appointed to serve as one of five eminent members of the National Council of Bhutan.[10] Also in 2023, she was awarded the Council's Civil Service Gold Medal.[11]

Personal life

Chhozom is married and has two children.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Five Humphrey Alumni Featured in Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Annual Report". The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Annual Report 2011–2012 (PDF). J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. p. 38.
  3. ^ a b c "Introducing the AUWCL 2005 - 2006 Humphrey Fellows". Washington College of Law.
  4. ^ a b "Alumni profiles". Queensland University of Technology.
  5. ^ a b "Justice Tashi Chhozom". Mountain Echoes. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Mountain Echoes culminates with unexpected ideas and unstoppable voices". Bhutan Times. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Appointment of Dasho Tashi Chhozom to the Supreme Court of Bhutan" (PDF). Judiciary of Bhutan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ^ Janssen, Sarah (2015). The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2016. Simon & Schuster. p. 126. ISBN 9781600572005.
  9. ^ Tenzin, Langa (9 August 2012). "Woman Supreme Court Judge and more". Writers of Bhutan. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. ^ "His Majesty The King grants Dhar to National Council members". Kuensel. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Annual Civil Service Award". National Council of Bhutan. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2025.