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  • Article
    Burma: Telecom Law Amended but Key Defamation Provision Remains Unchanged (Sept. 6, 2017) On August 18, 2017, the parliament (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) of Burma (also called Myanmar) adopted minor amendments to the country’s 2013 Telecommunications Law.  (Akira Tomlinson, Myanmar Parliament Amends Speech-Restricting Telecommunications Law, PAPER CHASE (Aug. 20, 2017); The Telecommunications Law (Oct. 8, 2013), Ministry of Transport and Communications website.) The amended Law “permits judges […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2017-09-06
  • Article
    Burma: 2017 Union Tax Law Passed (Mar. 30, 2017) The legislature of Burma (also known as Myanmar) passed the Union Tax Law 2017 (UTL) on March 1, 2017; it will come into force on April 1, 2017. (Suet Yen Loo, Myanmar: Union Tax Law 2017 Adopted, TAX NEWS SERVICE (Mar. 27, 2017), International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation online subscription database (IBFD); Law Draft […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2017-03-30
  • Article
    Burma: Investigation into Alleged Police Crimes Planned (Feb. 22, 2017) On February 8, 2017, officials in Burma (also known as Myanmar), announced that there would be an investigation of alleged police actions, and possible serious crimes, against the Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic and religious minority population.  (Roseanne Gerin, Myanmar Investigation Commission Begins Fact-Finding Mission in Maungdaw, RADIO FREE ASIA (Feb. 10, 2017); […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2017-02-22
  • Article
    Burma: Law Used to Stifle Dissent Abolished (Oct. 10, 2016) On October 4, 2016, Htin Kyaw, the President of Burma (also known as Myanmar), signed legislation that abolishes a law in place since 1950 that has been used to imprison dissidents. (Justin Cosgrove, Myanmar Abolishes Law Used to Jail Dissidents, PAPER CHASE (Oct. 5, 2016); 1950 Emergency Provisions Act (Mar. 9, 1950), […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2016-10-10
  • Article
    Burma: Draft Legislation on Revision of Penal Code (Sept. 15, 2015) It was reported on June 22, 2015, that Burma’s Union Supreme Court had submitted the Penal Code Amendment Bill to the Union Parliament. The draft law seeks to update Burma’s antiquated Penal Code of 1860, last amended in 1974, but only by making “fine adjustments and a handful of other minor changes […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2015-09-15
  • Article
    Burma: Four "Race and Religion Protection Laws" Adopted (Sept. 14, 2015) Four laws known collectively as the Race and Religion Protection Laws, which were submitted to the Parliament of Burma (Myanmar) in December 2014, were adopted this spring by the Parliament and recently signed by Thein Sein, Burma’s President. (Myanmar: Parliament Must Reject Discriminatory ‘Race and Religion’ Laws, Amnesty International website (Mar. 3, […]
    • Contributor: Rahman, Shameema
    • Date: 2015-09-14
  • Article
    Burma: Men Sentenced on Charges of Insulting Buddha (Mar. 20, 2015) On March 17, 2015, a court in Burma (also known as Myanmar) sentenced a New Zealand manager of a bar and his Burmese associates to spend time in prison on charges of insulting the Buddhist religion. The three individuals, Philip Blackwood, Tun Thurein, and Htut Ko Ko Lwin, were sentenced to two […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2015-03-20
  • Article
    Burma: Constitutional Referendum Plan Approved (Mar. 3, 2015) Members of Parliament of Burma (also known as Myanmar) announced on February 11, 2015, that the President of Burma had approved a law permitting a referendum to be held on amending the country’s Constitution. (Jared Ferrie, Myanmar President Enacts Law Allowing Referendum on Disputed Constitution, REUTERS (Feb. 12, 2015).) Approval of the […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2015-03-03
  • Article
    Burma: Temporary Citizens Will Be Allowed to Vote in Constitutional Referendum (Feb. 6, 2015) It was reported on February 3, 2015, that Burma’s Parliament (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) had passed a law the day before granting temporary citizens in Burma the right to vote in a constitutional referendum expected to be held in May 2015, before general elections scheduled for the fall. (Lawi Weng, ‘White Card’ Holders Eligible […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2015-02-06
  • Article
    Burma: Pledge to Consider Amending Constitutional Provision Giving Military the Power to Veto Amendments (Nov. 3, 2014) It was reported on November 2, 2014, that Myanmar’s parliament, the Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) will consider amending the country’s Constitution before key October 2015 elections. The step towards constitutional reform was taken in “unprecedented talks between President Thein Sein and his political rivals,” including opposition leader and Nobel Prize […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2014-11-03
  • Article
    Burma; United Nations: Experts Oppose Draft Law on Religious Conversion (June 26, 2014) On June 20, 2014, independent human rights experts from the United Nations asked Burma not to go ahead with a proposed law that would restrict religious conversion in the predominantly Buddhist country. The proposal would make conversions difficult by creating a process of application and approval for those wanting to change faiths. […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2014-06-26
  • Article
    Burma: Consumer Protection Law Adopted (Mar. 21, 2014) On March 14, 2014, Burma’s Union Parliament passed a Law on Consumer Protection, the country’s first law comprehensively addressing this topic. President Thein Sein has signed the legislation. The law is divided into 12 chapters. It has provisions on the rights and responsibilities of both manufacturers and consumers. It establishes a Committee […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2014-03-21
  • Article
    Burma: Law Purporting to Protect Race and Religion Proposed (Mar. 17, 2014) In response to a petition signed by 1.3 million people, on March 7, 2014, Burmese President Thein Sein called for a new commission to work with the high court to write a law on protection of race and religion. He had forwarded versions of several laws, created by lawyers working with Buddhist […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2014-03-17
  • Article
    Burma: Proposal to Monitor Court Cases (Sept. 13, 2013) Thura Aung Ko, a legislator in Burma’s (Myanmar’s) parliament, announced on September 7, 2013, that legislation will be drafted to create groups to monitor judicial proceedings. The purpose, according to Aung Ko, is to end corruption in the court system; it is not designed, the legislator asserted, to interfere with the independence […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2013-09-13
  • Article
    Burma: Call for Amendment of Controversial Press Bill (Aug. 28, 2013) After a discussion held on August 23, 2013, the Bill Committee of the Upper House of the Parliament of Burma (Myanmar) has called for the cancellation and amendment of certain sections of controversial draft legislation on printing and publishing enterprises. The draft legislation was approved by the Lower House in July. (Parliamentary […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2013-08-28
  • Article
    Burma: Constitution Under Legislative Review (Aug. 23, 2013) In July 2013, a 109-member multi-party committee was formed in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the two-house Parliament of Burma (also called Myanmar), to review that country’s 2008 Constitution. (Win Ko Ko Latt, Constitutional Change in Hands of Government: Shwe Mann, MYANMAR TIMES (Aug. 18, 2013).) One focus of public discussion has been on […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2013-08-23
  • Article
    Burma: Draft Publishing Law Criticized (Mar. 7, 2013) Burma is now considering a draft of a new law on publishing, designed to replace the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act. (Law No. 1, 1962, as amended in 1971, IBIBLIO; Hanna Hindstrom, New Draft Printing Law Accused of Preserving “Censorship,” DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA (Feb. 28, 2013).) The draft was released […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2013-03-07
  • Article
    Burma: Amended Foreign Investment Law Published (Nov. 28, 2012) On November 1, 2012, the Pyithu Hluttaw, Burma’s Parliament, passed amendments to the Foreign Investment Law that it adopted just two months ago. President U Thein Sein, who had recommended that the Law be revised, signed the revisions into law on November 2, and the amended legislation was published the following day. […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2012-11-28
  • Article
    Burma: New Foreign Direct Investment Law Adopted (Sept. 12, 2012) On September 7, 2012, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of the Union, the parliament of Burma) approved a new Foreign Investment Law, after several months of parliamentary debate and adjustments to the draft legislation “as proposed changes have gone back and forth between the assembly and the president’s office.” (Aung Hla Tun, Myanmar […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2012-09-12
  • Article
    Burma: Resignation of Constitutional Court Justices (Sept. 12, 2012) The nine justices of the Constitutional Tribunal of Myanmar (Burma) all resigned on September 6, 2012. The abrupt move was made in response to a vote to impeach them taken that day by the Lower House of the country’s Parliament as part of a dispute between that body and the government of […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2012-09-12
  • Article
    Burma: Recent Human Rights Assessments Identify Problems (Aug. 8, 2012) Two recent reports, one by the United Nations and one by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), have pointed out continuing, serious human rights problems in Burma (Myanmar). Tomás Ojea Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, released a statement on August 4, 2012, […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2012-08-08
  • Article
    Bangladesh; Burma: Maritime Dispute Adjudicated (Apr. 12, 2012) On March 14, 2012, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a ruling in a dispute between Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar) concerning the two countries' maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. (Case No. 16: Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary Between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the […]
    • Contributor: Rahman, Shameema
    • Date: 2012-04-12
  • Article
    Burma: Media Reform Program (Mar. 23, 2012) The Minister of Information and Culture of Myanmar (Burma), Kyaw Hsan, stated on March 19, 2012, at a two-day conference on “Media Development in Myanmar,” that his ministry has been implementing a three-step process of reform of media in the country through which press restrictions are gradually being relaxed. In the first […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2012-03-23
  • Article
    Burma: Peaceful Protest Law (Dec. 30, 2011) On December 2, 2011, the President of Burma (Myanmar), Thein Sein, formally approved legislation that allows citizens of Burma to engage in peaceful protests, subject to certain conditions. Under the new law, demonstrators are required to inform authorities in advance of the time, place, and reason for the protest. They must also […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2011-12-30
  • Article
    Burma: New Human Rights Commission (Sept. 9, 2011) The Myanmar government officially established the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, comprising “former government officials, diplomats, academics, doctors and lawyers,” on September 5, 2011. (Alexandra Malatesta, Myanmar Government Forms Human Rights Commission, PAPER CHASE NEWSBURST (Sept. 6, 2011).) Some of these individuals have formerly made statements defending Myanmar's human rights record, which […]
    • Contributor: Zeldin, Wendy
    • Date: 2011-09-09