Constructing Religion by Law in Myanmar

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Notes

1. Burma Laws Act 1898, s 13(1).

2. Registration of Kittama Adoption Act 1939 (Burma Code, Vol XI).

3. The Muslim Dissolution of Marriage Act No 14/1953 (Burma Code Vol XI) [in Burmese].

4. Buddhist Women's Special Marriage and Inheritance Act 1954 (Burma Code Vol XI) [in Burmese].

5. Supreme Court of the Union Directive No 1/2012 on foreigners getting married to Myanmar women, dated 9 May 2012 [in Burmese].

6. For an incisive analysis of the Buddhist nationalist movement since 2012, see Nyi Nyi Kyaw (forthcoming 2015).

7. Daw Mi Mi Tun v U Maung Maung Lwin (2012) MLR (civil case) 48 [in Burmese].

8. See, for example, Horsey (2015), who appears to assume that the Bill is new and does not acknowledge that it is adapted from the 1954 Act.

9. Constitution of Ireland 1937, s 44(1).

10. The Constitution (Third Amendment) Act 1961.

11. For historical analysis of the dynamics between Buddhism, politics and the state more generally, see, for example, Smith (1965), Mendelson (1975), Spiro (1982), and Brohm (1957).

12. Law No 1/1965 repealing the Vinicchaya Department and Tribunal Act 1960; Pali University Education & Dhammacariya Act 1950; and the Pali Education Board Act 1952 [in Burmese].

13. Working People's Daily (2 April 1964) “All Organizations must Register with Government,” Vol. 1, No. 79.

14. Working People's Daily (19 April 1964) “Rev Council Wish to See Purified Sasana,” Vol. 1, No. 93, p. 1.

15. For a review of scholarship on Burmese Buddhist law, see Crouch (2014a). For a review of literature on Buddhism in Myanmar more broadly, see Perriere (2009).

16. Working People's Daily (20 Jan 1965) “Leading Sayadaws Support Repeal of Religious Laws,” Vol. 11, No. 19, p. 1.

17. Vinaya Dharmakan Disputes Settlement Law 3/1980; Vinaya Dharmakan Disputes Law 9/1983 [in Burmese].

18. Shin Nyana (aka) Shin Moe Pya (Monk) v Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2011) MLR (Criminal Case) 126 [in Burmese].

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Notes on contributors

Melissa Crouch

Melissa Crouch is a Lecturer in the Law Faculty at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Her books include Law and Religion in Indonesia: Conflict and the Courts in West Java (Routledge, 2013), Law, Society, and Transition in Myanmar (Hart Publishing, 2014), and Islam and the State in Myanmar: Muslim-Buddhist Relations and the Politics of Belonging (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).