Asian Legal Review

A piercing wail emanates from the small device in the palm of a young Rohingya woman, drawing startled looks from other refugees crowded onto a hillside in a Bangladesh camp.
It has the desired effect – the safety alarms are designed to attract attention and scare off anyone preying on vulnerable women and girls, who make up most refugees in the sprawling Rohingya tent cities.
The colourful plastic sirens are being distributed to Rohingya women, girls and the infirm in Cox’s Bazar…

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea following its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test, a move that analysts said could have a significant impact on the isolated country’s struggling economy.
The resolution seeks to ban nearly 90 per cent of refined petroleum product exports to North Korea by capping them at 500,000 barrels a year and demands the repatriation of North Koreans working abroad within 12 months. The US-drafted…

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak warned his “good friend” US President Donald Trump not to threaten retaliation against countries like Malaysia that supported a United Nations resolution urging Washington to withdraw its decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“Yes, I was welcomed warmly by the White House. Yes, President Donald Trump is my good friend. But as a principle, I will never sacrifice the sanctity of Islam,” Najib said in his speech at a…

Hong Kong’s Competition Commission has published model contract clauses to help tendering companies guard against collusion between suppliers. 

Draft legislation that will make it easier for pension scheme operators to transfer members’ rights to new schemes without their consent has been set out by the UK government.

The value of criminal asset seizures fell by 19% this year, despite a rise in the value of fraudulent activity. One expert has said that the fall in seizures was caused by law enforcement budget cuts

New guidance issued by the European Banking Authority (EBA) on outsourcing to the cloud still lacks the kind of detail banks need to be comfortable that the arrangements they put in place are compliant, an expert in financial services and technology law has said.

The United States on Thursday presented a draft UN Security Council resolution ramping up sanctions on North Korea by cutting oil supplies vital for Pyongyang’s military programmes.
The council is expected to vote on the new sanctions on Friday, diplomats said.
The measure would ban the supply of nearly 90 per cent of refined oil products to North Korea and order the repatriation of all North Korean nationals working abroad within 12 months, according to the text.
The United States has…

The process of Brexit will be smoother for European-headquartered investment banks as a result of plans outlined by the Bank of England (BoE) over the way it intends to approach authorisation and supervision of international firms in future, an expert in financial services regulation has said.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on 52 people and entities for alleged human rights violations and corruption, including Myanmar general Maung Maung Soe, who oversaw a brutal crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Others hit with sanctions included Benjamin Bol Mel, who has served as an adviser to South Sudan President Salva Kiir, former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, and Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, a friend of Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, the…