Myanmar’s democracy icon and member of parliament Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is currently visiting Australia. This historic trip is just one reflection of the broader political and legal changes currently taking place in Myanmar.Since 2011 – under the framework of the 2008 Constitution – Myanmar has begun a transition to a quasi-civilian government. One result ofContinue reading “Myanmar’s Constitutional Transition is the Military’s Call”
Author Archives: Melissa Crouch
Myanmar’s State/Region Governments
One positive development given the political changes in Myanmar since 2011 is that empirical research is now possible to a much greater extent than in the past. One recent example of this is an empirical study on state and region governments conducted by a team of researchers from MDRI-CESD in partnership with the Asia Foundation.Continue reading “Myanmar’s State/Region Governments”
Indonesian Court rejects Blasphemy Court Case
In April 2013, the Indonesian Constitutional Court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the Blasphemy Law (although the court decision was only made publicly available in September 2013). As I argued previously, this was the most likely outcome, given the weak constitutional nature of the arguments raised and the failed challenge to the Blasphemy Law in 2010Continue reading “Indonesian Court rejects Blasphemy Court Case”
Interview on Myanmar’s Legal System
I recently gave an interview on ABC Radio Australia about the links between Myanmar’s transition process and the rule of law. The interview is available here and a further write up here.
‘Need to know Indonesia’
On the ABC Encounter program this week Margaret Coffey presents a discussion on ‘need-to-know’ Indonesia, with a particular emphasis on the realities of Islam in Indonesia. This is in response to the recent report on ‘Australian Attitudes towards Indonesia’. The program aired on 12 Oct 5pm (Melb time), see here for more details. It also aired on 15Continue reading “‘Need to know Indonesia’”
Legal and Economic Reforms in Myanmar
This week’s Asian Law Centre Occasional Seminar to be held on Thursday 10 October 2013 at 5:30PM is on Legal and Economic Reforms in Maynmar. The key speaker is Dr Sean Turnell who is an Associate Professor in Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, and is the author of numerous publications on Burma, including his bookContinue reading “Legal and Economic Reforms in Myanmar”
Constitutional Design in the Muslim World
The Law School at Northwestern University are running a Colloquium Series on Constitutional Design in the Muslim World in 2013-2014. The colloquium is convened by Professor Erin Delaney and Professor Kristen Stilt, and will feature work from scholars on jurisdictions as diverse as Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The workingContinue reading “Constitutional Design in the Muslim World”
National Human Rights Commissions in Myanmar, Indonesia
The Hague Journal on the Rule of Law has recently launched a Special Edition on the Development of the Rule of Law in East Asia. I have written an article on ‘Asian Legal Transplants and Rule of Law Reform: National Human Rights Commission in Myanmar and Indonesia’, which is available for download here. The abstract is as follows: TheContinue reading “National Human Rights Commissions in Myanmar, Indonesia”
Teaching Myanmar’s next generation of lawyers
Major changes have already been made to the legal system in Myanmar over the last two years. The next 10 years will be crucial to the country’s transition to a democratic legal system. As the reform process progresses, there is an urgent need for a new generation of law graduates capable of contributing to the developmentContinue reading “Teaching Myanmar’s next generation of lawyers”
Talk on People Smuggling at RSIS, Singapore, and the University of Melbourne
On 3 September 2013, Melissa gave a talk at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.The talk was based on the policy paper on ‘People Smuggling Trials in Indonesia’, co-authored with Dr Antje Missbach. Dr Antje Missbach will also be giving a talk on People Smuggling Trials inContinue reading “Talk on People Smuggling at RSIS, Singapore, and the University of Melbourne”
Melissa Crouch 