Over the past two days, the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) and the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) organised a Conference on Religion and Constitutional Practices in Asia. Religion is a highly salient feature of many Asian societies and its significance extends beyond the private sphere. In countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, andContinue reading “Religion and Constitutional Practise”
Author Archives: Melissa Crouch
Seminar at Jentera Law School
On 2 November 2017 I visited Jentera Law School, a new law school that began in 2014 based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Jentera Law School has a young and vibrant faculty with strong connections to key law reform and policy institutes, including the Centre for the Study of Law and Policy (PSHK), Hukumonline, and the Daniel SContinue reading “Seminar at Jentera Law School”
Religious Deference and the Blasphemy Law in Indonesia
It is a delight to be a University of Indonesia Visiting Fellow this month. On 1-2 November, I will give a paper at a workshop on “Law and Governance in Global Context” at the Law Faculty. My paper is on “The Courts, Religious Deference and the Blasphemy Law in Indonesia” Abstract: The recent criminal trialContinue reading “Religious Deference and the Blasphemy Law in Indonesia”
Seminar: The Struggle for Constitutional Rights and Accountability in Asia
On 12 October I will be giving a seminar at Windsor Faculty of Law, Ontario, Canada. My paper is on: “The Struggle for Constitutional Rights and Accountability in Asia. “Abstract: The courts are often a key site of the struggle for rights and administrative accountability. In this article, I highlight an important yet understudied avenue forContinue reading “Seminar: The Struggle for Constitutional Rights and Accountability in Asia”
Implementing New Constitutions Workshop
From 13-14 October 2017, Chicago Law School will be holding a workshop on ‘From Parchment to Practise: Implementing New Constitutions’. I will be presenting a paper on “Vehicle for Democratic Transition or Authoritarian Straightjacket? Constitutional Regression and Risks in the Struggle to Change Myanmar’s Constitution“. The abstract of my paper is as follows: How hard isContinue reading “Implementing New Constitutions Workshop”
Call for panels on Asian Law for the Asian Studies Association of Australia
The Asian Studies Association of Australia will hold its next bi-annual conference at the University of Sydney from 3-5 July 2018. We would like to invite submissions of abstracts for law-related panels around the following themes:1. Courts and Legal Culture in Asia2. Legal Pluralism and Human Rights in Asia3. Public Law in Asia If you would like to be consideredContinue reading “Call for panels on Asian Law for the Asian Studies Association of Australia”
Arson, exclusion and exodus
ANU Seminar on Rakhine State Tuesday 3 October 2017Location: Lecture Theatre 1.02, Sir Roland Wilson Building, ANUMyanmar has made global headlines in recent weeks due to the flight of almost half a million self-identifying Rohingya to Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. The exodus follows attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) against Myanmar police outposts inContinue reading “Arson, exclusion and exodus”
The Convenience of Terrorism in Myanmar
This article first appeared in Lowy’s Institute The Interpreter, 12 September 2017. The major and protracted humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State has serious local, regional and global implications. Many have rightly deplored the human rights situation and called for urgent humanitarian assistance while the world has become preoccupied with the silence of Aung San Suu Kyi and herContinue reading “The Convenience of Terrorism in Myanmar”
Graduation Ceremony for Legal Training Program
On 29 August 2017, UNSW Law hosted the graduation ceremony in Yangon for 36 lawyers who completed the UNSW/ADB Professional Legal Education in Commercial and Corporate Law Training Program. The training program was designed and run by a team at UNSW Law led by Dr Melissa Crouch. The intensive training course ran from April to JulyContinue reading “Graduation Ceremony for Legal Training Program”
Book Review: Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law
In recent decades, high profile controversies of monks involved in law and politics, as well as serious violent conflict, across South and Southeast Asia has exposed our current knowledge of the causes and consequences as insufficient. This has generated renewed scholarly interest in the study of Buddhism, law and politics. Benjamin Schonthal’s book on Buddhism, PoliticsContinue reading “Book Review: Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law”
Melissa Crouch 