Book Launch: Criminal Law in Myanmar

The book, Criminal Law in Myanmar, a commentary on the Myanmar Penal Code was launched at NUS Law on 15 September 2016. The book was written by Associate Professor Chan Wing Cheong, Professor Michael Hor, Assistant Professor Mark McBride, Professor Neil Morgan and Professor Stanley Yeo.

After three years of solid work and an equal number of field trips to Myanmar, the authors of Criminal Law in Myanmar celebrated the fruit of their labour at a book launch on 15 September 2016 at NUS Law. The team comprising Chan Wing Cheong, Michael Hor, Mark McBride, Neil Morgan and Stanley Yeo, produced an impressive 580 page commentary on the Myanmar Penal Code. The first of its kind, the work describes and critically evaluates the general principles of criminal responsibility contained in the Code with a view to assisting the application of the law. The book also discusses the major offences against the person and property and considers leading cases from Myanmar, India, Malaysia and Singapore along with relevant cases from other jurisdictions.

Jointly hosted by the NUS Centre for Asian Legal Studies and the publisher LexisNexis, the book launch was attended by 60 people from the Singapore legal fraternity, former colleagues and friends of the authors. Dr Myint Soe, a former legal academic at the University of Rangoon and a leading Singapore legal practitioner was the Guest-of-Honour. In his speech, Dr Myint Soe said that the book was “excellent and provocative in recommending reforming a Penal Code that had laid dormant for over fifty years”. And speaking for the publisher, Terence Lim said that “Criminal Law in Myanmar is a testament of LexisNexis’ continued commitment to advancing the rule of law around the world” and that “the book is a remarkable ground-breaking achievement and milestone”.

The book promises to be a leading reference text on criminal law for government officials, judges, legal practitioners and students for many years to come. Given that the period of research for the book coincided with the momentous developments in Myanmar’s recent political history, the authors have dedicated the book to “the People of Myanmar, in celebration of a new age of Democracy and Justice”.

The book is available from LexisNexis here.