Tshering Dolkar ’18 Brings Environmental Law to Bhutan

Tshering Dolkar ’18, a graduate of the Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law LLM program, will help design, teach, and coordinate the environmental law curriculum at the Kingdom of Bhutan’s first—and only—law school.

The Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law was founded in 2015 by the country’s king to “provide legal education, facilitate research in law and related fields, [and] promote cultural enrichment and traditional values.” The creation of a law school in a culture where the adversarial nature of Western legal practice is seen by some as opposed to Buddhist values was so noteworthy that the New York Times wrote a 2016 story about the school.

Dolkar’s teaching and research specialty will be environmental law and sustainable development. Bhutan follows the concept of “gross national happiness,” which includes the protection of the environment. “We are so proud of Dolkar,” said Janice Weis, associate dean and director, Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Program. “She follows a tradition for our graduates to spread the principles of environmental laws all over the world.”