The Rule of Law in Burma/Myanmar
The Bingham Centre has been engaged in a range of work relating to Burma (Myanmar) since early 2013. This has included several visits to the country, a major Constitutional Awareness project, publications about constitutional reform in Burma, and evidence to the UK House of Commons.
The underlying philosophy and approach of the Bingham Centre's 2014-2015 project was that while there are international standards for constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law, there are different options for how those standards can be implemented. Our project aimed to present those different options to Myanmar's MPs to enable them to choose the most appropriate manner of implementation for their particular national context and situation.
Our Projects Team
- Professor Sir Jeffrey Jowell KCMG QC
- Naina Patel
- Alex Goodman
- Swee Leng Harris
Our Burma/Myanmar Activities and Projects
Symposium on Constitutional Reform (January 2015)
The Symposium on Constitutional Reform was held on 27, 28, and 29 January 2015 at the National Democratic Institute's offices in Naypyitaw. Six international experts and one Burmese lawyer conducted seminars for a total of 48 MPs and the Centre held private meetings with several more.
The pack of materials that was provided to participants included the Symposium agenda, biographies of each of the speakers and each of the papers presented at the Symposium (as well as the Manual on Constitutional Awareness which was prepared for the Constitutional Bus Tour). These materials were prepared and printed for the originally scheduled Symposium in November 2014, and were not updated for the rescheduled Symposium in January 2015 because the content for the Symposium did not change.
Evidence to the UK House of Commons International Development Committee 'Democracy and development in Burma' inquiry
(February 2014)
• Written evidence from the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law
Constitutional Awareness Project (September 2013 - January 2014)
Publications include:
- Constitutional Awareness - Constitutional Options Manual, Myanmar (October 2013) (English)
- Constitutional Awareness - Constitutional Options Manual, Myanmar (October 2013) (Burmese)
- Constitutional Reform in Myanmar: Priorities and Prospects for Amendment (January 2014)
Myanmar Attorney-General's Roundtable - Naina Patel (Napyidaw, May 2013)
The Rule of Law: Universal and Clear - Speech, Sir Jeffrey Jowell (Napyidaw, Feb 2013)
Cape Town Principles on the Role of Independent Commissions in the Selection and Appointment of Judges, now available in Burmese translation.
- Myanmar Constitutional Reform Symposium Pack - English (January 2015)
- Myanmar Constitutional Reform Symposium Pack - Burmese (January 2015)
The symposium papers are:
- Andrew McLeod, Constitutional Transitions and the Role of the Military (Nov 2014)
- Dr Marcus Brand, Constitutional Options for Safeguarding the Rule of Law in Public Administration (Nov 2014)
- Naina Patel et al, Constitutional Reform in Myanmar - Priorities and Prospects for Amendment (Jan 2014)
- Rohan Edrisinha, Federalism in Asia (Nov 2014)
- Sir Jeffrey Jowell, Executive Power in Myanmar (Nov 2014)
