ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role and function of the Supreme Court, and the courts below it in contemporary Myanmar. It shows how the composition of the Supreme Court points to the influence of the executive over the courts. The chapter also focuses on the authority of the Supreme Court in terms of its original and appellate jurisdiction, and its reporting, law-making and supervisory functions. It describes that the new authority of the Supreme Court has to hear cases concerning complaints against government decisions is a form of procedural authoritarianism to keep lower courts in check. The chapter demonstrates the current overt limitations on courts against the implicit, highly discretionary judicial system under the military regime prior to 2011. It provides two new or emerging areas for the courts: the first is the constitutional writs, and the second is legislative changes to personal law.
