Asian Legal Review

The global trading system under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is failing businesses.

A genocide complaint filed with Indonesian prosecutors against Myanmar’s newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing marks a further step by rights activists to hold the country’s military rulers accountable for their alleged international crimes, regardless of where they were committed.
The complaint, lodged on Monday with Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO), accuses the former military chief of genocide against the Rohingya, including mass rape, forced eviction, killings and arson attacks…

The US war on Iran has triggered the worst energy crisis in memory and punched a hole in Southeast Asia’s energy-importing economies. Still, a top former US diplomat insists America remains a dependable ally and will be central to the region’s trade and security for years to come.
The Trump administration’s attack on Iran had inflicted pain on Southeast Asian allies dependent on Middle Eastern energy imports, said Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, a former assistant secretary of state for East…

Thailand’s foreign minister confirmed on Wednesday the deaths of three Thai crew members of a cargo ship struck by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz a month ago.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to respond by effectively closing the strait, a crucial artery for global oil supplies, and launching attacks on vessels.
The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree was struck on March 11 while travelling through the Gulf waterway, after departing a port in the United Arab…

The licensing of two fintech firms to provide open banking services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) marks “a significant regulatory inflection point” for the country’s fintech ecosystem, an expert has said.

Myanmar’s weak economy is being brutally exposed to the fuel crisis, with farmers unable to fill up tractors to work their fields and a fertiliser shortage caused by the throttling of the Strait of Hormuz threatening food security just as the planting season begins.
Battered by civil war and runaway inflation, and with a quarter of its population already lacking sufficient food, Myanmar is poorly positioned to absorb the oil shock and its cascading effects on an economy that is among the most…

A review by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) into consumer understanding takes a “proportionate approach” to firms’ business, size and resources, an expert has said.

Tehran’s decision to let Malaysia-linked vessels through the Strait of Hormuz highlighted Iran’s growing use of access to the strategic waterway as leverage, analysts said, with only a limited number of ships now able to pass and access increasingly determined by political ties rather than treated as a neutral commercial right.
For Malaysia, the move drew attention not only to Tehran’s close ties with Putrajaya but also to scrutiny surrounding sanction-sensitive oil trade and ship-to-ship…

Singapore’s economy will inevitably be hit by the global energy crunch even though it is in a better position to deal with the crisis compared with its neighbours, according to analysts, as the city state unveiled a raft of measures to help households and businesses.
The conflict in the Middle East has roiled supply chains and sent fuel prices soaring in Southeast Asia, with governments scrambling to enforce measures such as fuel caps and work-from-home mandates.
Singapore ministers in…

Bangladesh has launched an emergency ⁠vaccination campaign ⁠targeting more than a ⁠million children as a fast-spreading measles outbreak sweeps across the country.
Health ministry figures show there have been 17 confirmed deaths from measles so far, with 113 suspected ‌deaths and more than 7,500 suspected infections nationwide.
The campaign, led by the health ministry with support from Unicef, the World Health Organization and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, began in 18 high-risk districts,…