• Burmese
Saturday, July 12, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Rule of Law Probe Inspects Rangoon Courts

Lawi Weng by Lawi Weng
September 28, 2012
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Rule of Law Probe Inspects Rangoon Courts

A Buddhist monk walks past the High Court in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters)

2.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Burma’s parliamentary Rule of Law Committee, headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ended a three-day fact-finding trip to investigate the country’s warped judicial system on Thursday.

Win Myint, the secretary of the committee and the National League for Democracy (NLD) Lower House MP for Pathein (Bassein) Constituency, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the committee visited Rangoon’s divisional, district and township courts.

“We went there just to study the situation,” he said. “This is our first study trip and will finish today. We mainly focused on talking to judges and determining how we can reform the system.”

RelatedPosts

Thai Parliament Elects Srettha Thavisin as PM: Unofficial Count

Thai Parliament Elects Srettha Thavisin as PM: Unofficial Count

August 22, 2023
608
Thai Govt Calls for Calm After Reformist’s PM Bid Fails

Thai Govt Calls for Calm After Reformist’s PM Bid Fails

July 20, 2023
486
Thai Reformist Suspended From Parliament in Fresh Blow to PM Bid

Thai Reformist Suspended From Parliament in Fresh Blow to PM Bid

July 19, 2023
395

During the trip, committee members met those on trial and candidly asked about their cases and if they thought justice was being done. “There are people who spoke openly, but there were people who are afraid to speak out,” said Win Myint, who is also a lawyer.

The committee said that they are going to give training to people in the future to encourage them to speak out if they have suffered an injustice. Thein Nyunt, a Lower House MP for the New Democracy Party, said, “Our intention is to have real justice and courts that make good decisions.”

Also a prominent lawyer, Thein Nyunt said that he found a family at the court in Tarmway Township on Wednesday where the wife of an accused man was also being detained, and she was not granted bail despite suffering from a serious illness.

“When people are unwell in jail during a trial, the court must allow for medical treatment,” said Thein Nyunt. “I told the court officers to give her bail or help her.”

Burma was ruled by a military dictatorship for more than half-a-century where the justice system did not provide people with any protection under the rule of law, according to members of the committee.

Burma has long been known as one of the world’s most repressive regimes where people suffer a catalogue of human rights abuses—such as arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, torture, rape, murder and forced labor.

Committee members joined Suu Kyi in insisting that the rule of law must be made strong in order to ensure that President Thein Sein’s new political reform program can achieve stability, democracy and development.

“In order to have a good justice system in our country, there must be strong rule of law,” said Win Myint. “Without the rule of law, there will no more peace. If there is no peace, there will not be stable democracy and development. After we make strong rule of law, our country will have a better justice system.”

He explained that Burma has experienced a broken court system for decades which cannot be fixed overnight. “It might take another 50 years in order to have a good system,” said Win Myint. “All the people have a responsibility to cooperate with the committee in order to achieve success.

“We need to know the disease in order to prescribe the correct medicine,” he added.

Members of the committee said that they will hold a meeting with Suu Kyi after she returns from her current trip in the United States to discuss what they have seen before proposing solutions to Parliament.

The Rule of Law Committee was formed only six weeks ago and will also study courts from other townships outside Rangoon in the future, according to members.

Thein Nyut said the committee has already received over 1,000 complaint letters from within Rangoon Division and has read around half which have been forwarded on to the relevant courts.

“The people put a lot of hope in our committee when they send letters,” said Thein Nyut. “We must consider how to most effectively deal with these complaints.”

He said the committee will produce a draft bill at the end of October, which will then be proposed at Parliament and debated before new legislation can be enacted to reform the judicial system.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Parliament
Lawi Weng

Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with U Soe Thane at the Oslo Forum in June 2012. / Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Stories That Shaped Us

Pro-Military at Heart, Myanmar Ex-Minister Once Dubbed a ‘Reformer’ Reveals True Colors

by Hpone Myat
December 27, 2021
22.7k

U Soe Thane, once hailed as the int’l face of U Thein Sein’s 2011 reforms, writes in his latest book...

Read moreDetails
Ominous Rumblings in Myanmar’s ‘Abode of Kings’
Stories That Shaped Us

Ominous Rumblings in Myanmar’s ‘Abode of Kings’

by Kyaw Zwa Moe
August 8, 2019
10.6k

The generals who built Naypyitaw will not be forced from it via charter change; can the city’s old and new...

Read moreDetails
Thai Parliament Elects Srettha Thavisin as PM: Unofficial Count
Asia

Thai Parliament Elects Srettha Thavisin as PM: Unofficial Count

by AFP
August 22, 2023
608

The property tycoon easily secured the needed votes in both houses, but his party’s decision to join hands with pro-military...

Read moreDetails
Thai Govt Calls for Calm After Reformist’s PM Bid Fails
News

Thai Govt Calls for Calm After Reformist’s PM Bid Fails

by AFP
July 20, 2023
486

Outgoing PM Prayut Chan-o-cha told the public to ‘move Thailand forward in a democratic way alongside the monarchy’ after Pita...

Read moreDetails
Thai Reformist Suspended From Parliament in Fresh Blow to PM Bid
Asia

Thai Reformist Suspended From Parliament in Fresh Blow to PM Bid

by AFP
July 19, 2023
395

The Constitutional Court said it would take up a case on whether Pita Limjaroenrat, whose MFP won May polls, should...

Read moreDetails
protesters confronts security forces in Naypyitaw  in February.
Specials

Myanmar’s Heroes and Villains of 2021

by The Irrawaddy
December 30, 2021
9.5k

The Irrawaddy looks at the individuals, groups and forces that shaped the course of events in one of the most...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post

Refugees Lose Interest in Resettling in Japan

Burma Seeks Indian Army Help with Bridges

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

2 days ago
1k
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

3 days ago
1k

Most Read

  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.