New Delhi (Mizzima) – Under the new government, the Rangoon Region Court has transferred hundreds of civil suits to district and township courts, delaying civil trials in Rangoon, according to lawyers.
Each district court in Rangoon Region has received at least 600 civil cases from the Rangoon Region Court, sources said. There are four district courts in Rangoon Region: East District Court, West District Court, South District Court and North District Court.
Lawyers in Rangoon estimated that at least 2,000 civil cases are awaiting trial.
Since early June, district courts in Rangoon have been given authority to handle cases involving suits of up to 500 million kyat (about US$ 625,000). Earlier, the courts could handle trials involving up to 10 million kyat. Township courts have been given the authority to handle trials involving up to 10 million kyat; earlier, the limit was three million kyat.
As a result, a small number of civil lawsuits have not gone to trial, a lawyer in Tamwe Township told Mizzima.
The Rangoon Region Court will handle lawsuits worth more than 500 million kyat. The east, west and south District Courts are located on Bank Road in Kyauktada Township and the North District Court is located on Lower Mingalardon Road in East Ywama Quarter in Insein Township.
Due to the bulk transfers of lawsuits, the identification numbers of some lawsuits have been confused and legal files had been lost, said lawyer Than Zaw.
“Some files have been lost during the transfer. Some files have been misidentified. This has led to lengthy delays,” Than Zaw said.
Lawyer Bo Min, a retired district law official, said some of his cases that were transferred to the West District Court were lost.
In the courts, currently only lawsuits connected with the police are being heard and most civil lawsuits are delayed.
“I went to the court at the day fixed for a hearing. When I arrived, the staff told me that the hearing was canceled. But he did not say what date the hearing would be moved to. He told me to come to the court occasionally to enquire about the date,” a lawyer told Mizzima.
A lawyer in Tamwe Township said: “Long delays make litigants suffer. They need to spend more time and money and they become frustrated. And delays just make lawyers busier.”
