Burma appoints Judges

Burma's new national parliament (Hluttaw) has been quite busy with appointments these past two weeks. Last Friday, it appointed all nine members of the Constitutional Tribunal. According to the New Light of Myanmar, the appointees are:

The three members nominated by the elected President were U Thein Soe, Dr Tin Aung Aye and Daw Khin Hla Myint. The three members chosen by the Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw were U Tun Kyi, U Soe Thein and U Khin Tun. The three members nominated by the Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw were U Hsan Myint, U Myint Kyaing and Daw Mi Mi Yi.

The chief judge, Thein Soe, is also the former chairman of the Elections Commission. I don't know much about any of the other members. I believe Tun Kyi is a lawyer with the Ministry of Justice and deeply involved in writing the constitution. I do wonder how Thein Soe will manage the court. While the Elections Commission received a fair share of criticism, it also seemed more willing to entertain opposition challenges than the Supreme Court ever did. I'm not sure if that was a sign of the man or the regime's approach towards the elections though.

Yesterday, according to DVB, the parliament also appointed judge Tun Tun Oo as the new chief justice. He will replace long-serving Chief Justice Aung Toe, who first joined the high court bench in 1989. Again, I'm not that familiar with him, but the fact that he was personally nominated by President Thein Sein probably speaks to how independent the court will be once it convenes.