Asian Legal Review

Police are questioning the Indonesian business partner of President Donald Trump over allegations he sent threatening text messages to a deputy attorney general.
A smiling Hary Tanoesoedibjo arrived at the national police’s Criminal Investigation Agency in central Jakarta on Friday morning after failing to comply with a summons for questioning last week.
The 51-year-old billionaire, better known as Tanoe, is barred from leaving Indonesia from June 22 to July 12, which could be extended at…

Local authorities in England will have access to new funding for major roads under their control under “rebalancing” plans put forward by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Organisations that set realistic goals for major IT projects that align with their strategic objectives will be well placed to make a success of those projects, an IT contracts expert has said.

Questions remain over whether Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has fully weathered the political storm caused by the abuse of power allegations made against him by his estranged younger siblings, despite the two sides signalling they wish to draw a line under the saga.
In a joint statement on Thursday morning, his two siblings Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling said: “We are not politicians and do not wish to see Singapore embroiled in a never-ending public argument…

The siblings of Singapore’s prime minister offered a truce on Thursday in an explosive family feud over the legacy of their late father, founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, saying they wanted to settle the matter privately.
The tightly-controlled city-state has been captivated by the row over the future of the family bungalow, which has played out in a bitter back and forth across social media since it erupted last month.
“For now, we will cease presenting further evidence on social media…

More than a dozen members of an assembly appointed by Thailand’s junta have resigned to be able to contest elections, one of the first signs of political activity ahead of a poll set tentatively for next year.
The military government had initially promised a vote within 18 months of a May 2014 coup, but the timetable has slipped – intensifying suspicion among government critics about the army’s real willingness to relinquish power.
The vice-chairman of the National Reform…

It’s December 2016 in Manila’s tech-hub, Bonifacio Global City.
People are having brunch at Wildflour – a hip cafe-cum-breakfast joint – before facing the daily grind. Someone in the crowd returns ashen-faced from the money changers: “The ringgit has fallen 10 per cent against the Philippine peso.”
The others chip in:
“Yeah it’s really dropped against the rupiah.”
“…and the dong!”
There’s a moment of silence as the…

France has the right to bring criminal charges against Uber for its unlicensed ‘UberPop’ service without first notifying the European Commission, a legal adviser has suggested.

Health systems in the UK and across the world must be “fully digitised” to realise the potential of genomics medicine, an expert in life sciences has said.

(Nov. 19, 2014) On November 6, 2014, the legislative department of the State Council of Egypt (a judicial organ) approved a draft law banning the publication in media outlets of any information concerning the armed forces. The State Council referred the draft law to the Council of Ministers, the country’s Cabinet, for further debate and final approval. (The State Council Refers a Draft Law Banning the Publishing of Any News Related to the Armed Forces to the Council of Ministers [in Arabic], AL MASRY AL YOUM (Nov. 6, 2014).)

Highlights of the Draft Law Provisions

The draft law prohibits the publication without permission of any information or news about the armed forces in daily and weekly newspapers, on TV and radio channels, and also on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (The Final Text of a Draft Law on the Prohibition of Publishing News on the Army [in Arabic], AL BAWABA (Nov. 9, 2014).)

The draft law also requires that advance permission be obtained from the General Command of the Armed Forces before the following kinds of information are published: the number of Egypt’s military units, statistics or data on the movement of forces, the performance of those forces, military strategies, and “any other information that might harm the security of the members of the armed forces.” (Id.)

The draft law imposes sanctions against individuals who violate the prohibition. The sanctions include a term of imprisonment of six months to five years, in addition to a fine of L.E.10,000-L.E.50,000 (about US$1,403-$7,013). If the violation takes place during a time of war or a state of emergency, the penalty will be increased to long-term imprisonment and a fine of L.E.100,000-L.E.200,000. (Id.)

Civil Society Reactions to the Draft Law

According to news reports, human rights groups have denounced the draft law. They consider it to be one of a series of recent measures adopted by the Egyptian authorities to extend military control over the country’s media outlets. The rights groups also claim that the draft law will eradicate the freedom of speech gained after the January 25, 2011, revolution against former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. A representative of what is known as “the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression,” a Cairo-based organization, commented that if such a law is approved by the Council of Ministers, it would constitute an infringement of the Egyptian people’s right to access information and right of free speech. (Patrick Kingsley, Egypt Mulls Military News Ban, GUARDIAN (Nov. 7, 2014).)

On the other hand, 17 editors of major state and private newspapers recently agreed to avoid criticizing the performance of certain government agencies. They announced their “rejection of attempts to doubt state institutions or insult the army or police or judiciary in a way that would reflect negatively on these institutions’ performance.” (Id.)