The nature of the disciplinary system over Myanmar lawyers: differences from international standards and implications for international legal transplants

ABSTRACT International organizations such as the International Bar Association (IBA), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and United Nations (UN) have been engaged in efforts to reform Myanmar's laws regarding the legal profession as part of larger rule-of-law initiatives in the country. Part of such efforts are strategies to change professional conduct rules to match international practices in the regulation of lawyers. The present analysis focuses on the disciplinary mechanisms for lawyers in Myanmar. The analysis seeks to determine the extent to which Myanmar's existing disciplinary mechanisms for lawyers deviate from international standards held by the IBA, ICJ, and UN. The analysis argues that the structural nature of Myanmar’s disciplinary system renders it incapable of meeting international expectations because it sustains British colonial laws that centralized power over lawyers underneath institutions of the state. The analysis identifies the significance of these deviations for international legal transplant efforts.