A few brief updates from the region:
Burma/Myanmar: The National League for Democracy has established a network of lawyers called the Central Legal Aid Team to provide pro bono legal services across the country. According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, their work will focus mostly on defending political activists, although lawyer Aung Thein claims it will not be limited by its affiliation with the NLD.
Cambodia: While Yellow Shirts have yet to face justice in Thailand, Cambodia has started to prosecute seven Thais, including an MP and prominent Yellow Shirt activist, for illegal entry into a military zone. The incident is part of the larger border dispute between the countries over the Preah Vihar temple.
Indonesia: Members of the Islamic Defenders Front are now standing trial for attacking and stabbing a Christian minister in Bekasi. Sadly, this is only a more extreme case of rising Islamic antagonism towards Christianity in the country.
Critics agree that much of Southeast Asia desperately needs judicial reform and rule of law. Yet, there is remarkably little comparative scholarship on law and legal institutions in the region. In this blog, I'll follow constitutional developments in Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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