Asian Legal Review

The EU has added 10 countries to its blacklist of “non-cooperative” tax jurisdictions, bringing the number now on the list to 15.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday her cabinet had made in principle decisions around the reform of gun laws following the mass shooting in Christchurch.“I intend to give further details of these decisions to the media and the public before cabinet meets again next Monday,” she said at a press conference.“This ultimately means that within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer.”Ardern also…

Indonesia’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and e-commerce platforms are up in arms over a plan to levy taxes on online businesses, as authorities in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy grapple with tax collection from its burgeoning digital sector.The Indonesian tax authority is set to introduce the e-commerce tax scheme next month, getting the ball rolling by tabulating taxpayer identification numbers from SMEs that sell products and services on online marketplaces. The task of logging…

At least 42 people have been killed by flash floods in Indonesia’s eastern Papua province, an official said Sunday, as rescuers raced to find more victims of the disaster.The floods in Sentani, near the provincial capital of Jayapura, were triggered by torrential rain and subsequent landslides on Saturday, and also left 21 people injured.Dozens of homes were damaged by floodwaters, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.“The number of casualties and impact of the disaster…

Malaysian lawyer and octogenarian Cecil Rajendra has lived by one mantra during his legal career spanning more than four decades – “seek out the little guy and help if you can”.This conviction was what drove him and several friends to pioneer a free legal aid clinic in Bayan Lepas free-trade zone in his home state of Penang in 1980.The zone, set up in 1972, had boosted Penang’s economic fortunes but workers were struggling with housing issues, poor working conditions, non-payment of wages and…

“It’s time for a rebalance”, “we’re too close to China”, “let’s learn from Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad”.Those were some of the views on the future of Sino-Thai ties coming from pro-democracy Thai politicians and foreign policy watchers ahead of next week’s election – the country’s first since the May 2014 coup.Analysts in Beijing were more optimistic, expecting the domestic political status quo to remain and bilateral ties to stay on an even keel.As young Thais look to the future, does Thaksin…

If Thailand’s pro-democracy parties had a “moon shot” – besides overcoming severe handicaps to form government after the March 24 elections – it would be pushing through military reform when they come to power.The sheer audacity of such a plan was revealed last month. Upon hearing the Pheu Thai Party’s plan to cut the country’s military budget by 10 per cent to fund job-creation initiatives, army chief Apirat Kongsompong reacted with fury.Those behind the proposal, the Royal Thai Army commander…

The UK’s 2010 Bribery Act has created “an international gold standard for anti-bribery and corruption legislation”, with little need for major improvements, according to a House of Lords select committee.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cannot claim legal advice privilege over early drafts of a letter dated before its in-house lawyers were consulted, the High Court has ruled.

Businesses that are subject to criminal investigations may not need to comply with information notices served on them by the UK’s data protection regulator, but UK law does not prohibit the information commissioner from sending the notices in such circumstances, a tribunal has ruled.