In 1934, Burma became a separate colony of England. Burma's Parliament supplemented and amended the Burma Code. According to a Burma legal expert, this gave the following three main sources of law in Burma.¹²

1 - The Burma Code and other statutes
The most important source, containing 'the law' on most areas in­cluding procedure, evidence, contract, local government, and crimi­nal law.
2 - The common law applies in two areas: torts and damages Torts - a 'tort' is a civil action taken by one person against another who has wronged them. Examples include negligence (when a person doesn't take care and this injures another person), defamation (when someone says or writes something that injures another person's repu­tation), and misrepresentation (when someone says something wrong, and another person relies on this and suffers loss because it is wrong). Damages - the law on how to determine the amount a plaintiff should receive as compensation if the court decides the defendant has broken the law.
3 - Religious law on some matters
By legislation in 1898, some of Burma's religious laws and customs were recognised and enforced in cases dealing with 'succession, inheritance, marriage or caste, or any religious usage or institution'.¹³ In these cases, the courts should use '(a) the Buddhist law in cases where the parties are Buddhists, (b) the Muhammadan law in cases where the parties are Mohammedans, and (c) the Hindu law in cases where the parties are Hindus'.¹⁴
There is also a fourth source, after 1947, being the constitution.

3.2 1947-1962
When Burma became an independent nation in 1947, it ended all legal ties with England. The final court of appeal was now a domestic court in Burma. However, the continued use of the common law was supported by court practice and also various provisions in Burma's first constitution. The constitution established a High and Supreme Court and specified their jurisdictions, including that the High Court had 'original .. jurisdiction and power to determine all matters and questions whether of law or of fact'.¹⁵ This gave the High Court the power to use common law concepts and grant common law remedies. The High and Supreme Courts were designated to be 'courts of record' ¹⁶ meaning they had to keep a permanent record of proceedings before them and publish their decisions - critical for the common law's operation. The decisions of the Supreme Court were constitutionally stated to be binding on all other courts.¹⁷

As apparent from earlier discussion, for the common law to operate effectively requires an independent judiciary. The 1947 constitution promoted a strong and independent judiciary in several respects:

- The constitution supported a competent judiciary through a detailed procedure for their appointment,¹⁸ necessary qualifications,¹⁹ and also a requirement that judges had to give an oath to uphold the constitution & law ,²⁰
- Each judge's position was protected through constitutional provisions that their employment conditions had to be specified in law and couldn't be reduced during their time as a judge²¹, and that they couldn't be dismissed except through a decision and detailed procedure involving both houses of parliament.²²
- Each judge was constitutionally bound to decide matters independently.²³

During the first 15 years of the country's independence, the courts in Burma referred to common law concepts and decisions of the Privy Council and other courts. Burma's courts granted various remedies like certiorari, mandamus, and habeas corpus (against preventative detention). These were common law concepts, certainly, but the actual source of much of this law was from the Burma Code rather than directly from the common law.

3.3 1962-1974
In 1962 the military staged its first coup, aiming to control the whole country. The military didn't formally revoke the 1947 constitution but they abolished the parliament and the two main courts (High Court and Supreme Court). The 1947 constitution thereby became ineffective because there was no way to use or enforce its terms. The loss of these institutions also had significant impact on the common law

12. From analysis by A Huxley, 'Case Note: Comparative Law Aspects of the Doe v Unocal Choice of Law Hearing', 2006, Journal of Comparative Law (Issue 1), available at <wwwwildy.co.uk/jcl/pdfs/huxley.pdf>, accessed 11 December2006.

13. Section 13(1) of the The Burma Laws Act (India Act XIII, 1898), as reported at <www.blc-burma.org/html/Burma%2OCode/lr_e bc01 02.html>, accessed 13 December 2006.

14. Section 13(1) of The Burma Laws Act 1898 (India) see note 13 above.

15. The Constitution of The Union of Burma (1947), section 134

16. Section 148, 1947 Constitution

17. Section 152, 1947 Constitution

18. Section 140, 1947 Constitution

19. Section 142, 1947 Constitution

20. Section 139, 1947 Constitution.

21. Sections 144 & 149, 1947 Constitution

22. Section 143, 1947 Constitution

23. Section 141, 1947 Constitution.

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