Category Archives: Uncategorized

Here are two new Economist articles about human rights and the International Criminal Court. It raises some interesting issues, including the prospect of more competition amongst human rights NGOs and concerns over the international “crime” of aggression. The former could be particularly relevant to Southeast Asia if it means that in the future attention will tend to focus on “hot” human rights cases (such as Burma), but less on countries such as the Philippines.

The Philippine Judicial and Bar Council has begun interviewing candidates for the Philippine Supreme Court’s Chief Justice. Say what you will about “crony capitalism” in Philippine politics, the questioning has been pretty intense and interesting – more so than recent U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Questions range from rulings in particular cases to accusations of corruption. I encourage readers to follow some of the interviews in the news through articles such as this.

David Cohen, Director of the War Crimes Center at U.C. Berkeley, has recently announced the launch of a new Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA). This effort, aimed at strengthening the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission, is based at the University of Jakarta and includes a network of other faculties throughout the region. I’m still skeptical about the AIHRC, but this is a very welcome development. The fact that it is a dedicated center rather than just intermittent technical “trainings” or conferences means it will hopefully be more sustainable. Read the article here.

I won’t be posting very often for the next few weeks because I’ll be in Asia. First, I will be attending the inaugural East Asian Law and Society Conference in Hong Kong (I will try to blog about it). I will then travel to Burma for a week to visit in-laws, including my adorable niece. Finally, I will spend a week in Chiangmai where I will hopefully meet with the Burma Lawyer’s Council, among others. So, I should have plenty to discuss when I get back. Until then…

I’ve published another op-ed in Irrawaddy – this time I discuss prospects for Burma’s 2008 Constitution. There is a small but growing literature assessing how constitutional design and environments influence the longevity of constitutional regimes. I took the most recent book from that literature, Tom Ginsburg and Zachary Elkins’ The Endurance of National Constitutions, and apply it to Burma. You can read the entire article here, but in the short of it is that, despite the fears of many observers, Burma’s constitution won’t last forever – I estimate perhaps just a generation.