Legal and judicial system

Myanmar’s junta has passed a law that grants it sweeping powers over aid delivery, prompting warnings of a “catastrophic” effect on services to those in need in the crisis-hit nation. Sources inside aid agencies in Yangon, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that the ...

A top Thai court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt purchases of electricity by the country from a hydropower dam in neighbouring Laos over environmental concerns, bringing an end to a decade-long legal battle. The case brought by 37 villagers from eight provinces along ...

A video report alleging a Battambang timber factory was illegally processing luxury wood has landed a local journalist in court. Lim Phally, a reporter for Los Seng News, said he had asked for a delay for court questioning that was scheduled today. He was sued after a ...

Last month, Facebook moved to block a bid by The Gambia in a US court, in which it sought disclosure of posts and communications by members of Myanmar’s military and police. This legal step is related to a case brought by The Gambia before the International ...

Oddar Meanchey provincial authorities remain puzzled about the Thai Appeal Court’s recent ruling in favour of more than 700 families who claimed to have been locked in a land dispute with three Thai-owned sugar companies in Samrong town and Chongkal district. Provincial deputy governor Vat Paranin ...

Lawyers bringing a case before the World Court accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority have asked a U.S. district court to order Facebook to release posts and communications of the country’s military and police. The International Court of Justice based in the Hague ...

Thai Airways International (THAI) is headed for bankruptcy court to pave the way for a much-needed rehabilitation for the octogenarian, near moribund national carrier, which in its glory days operated under the smug “Smooth as Silk” logo. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha’s Cabinet approved the plan ...

Daycha Siripatra, founder of the Khaokwan Foundation, would have remained largely unknown had the police and anti-narcotics officials not raided the foundation’s premises in Suphan Buri province and seized 200 cannabis plants, some marijuana extract, oil and seeds.  They also arrested senior foundation member Pornchai Choolert and ...

Law courts in many Asian countries are overburdened. A perfect storm of factors including rapid economic growth, urbanisation, industrialisation and the withering away of traditional governance systems has caused the number of criminal and civil cases to soar. Courts are often ill-equipped to cope with ...

An Investigation by the  National Anti-Corruption Commission has found Thailand’s deputy prime minister innocent of failing to declare assets a year after he was discovered to have several luxury watches that would have been out of reach of his government salary.  Keep reading ...