Female Monks in Thailand being Ordained Despite Being Against the Law

An interview with the Huffington Post reveals that females in Thailand are not allowed to be ordained as monks. About 93% of Thailand’s population is Buddhist and only 100 females are monks compared to the 300,000 males that are monks.

Female monks comment that there is a lot of misogyny deep rooted in Thailand’s Buddhism. For example, there are a lot of sexist teachings that are not in the original texts or a lot has been left out to favor men being monks. Venerable Dhammananda adds that “they don’t listen to the Bhudda carefully”.

Thailand is so against female monks that they have even been attacked. These female monks fear for their life every time they go out for their morning walks blessing the community and receiving food.

Male monks retaliate with the explanation that women are too sensitive and not disciplined enough “to endure the hardships of a monk”, especially living in a temple, being abstinent and isolated from society.

Watch the full video here

Thai-foreign couples going through a separation require a divorce lawyer in Thailand to professionally separate assets and other legal matters.

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Journalists Facing Prosecution for Using Drones in Myanmar

Singaporean freelance camera man Lau Hon Meng and Malaysian documentary producer Mok Choy Lin were sentenced to two months in jail for using a drone, breaching Myanmar’s Aircraft Act, details The Strait Times.

Persons victimized by a breach of contract in Thailand should seek attorneys with contract and litigation experience, court disputes between Thai and foreign entities may potentially be heard by the Court of Intellectual Property and International Trade Law.

Although, Myanmar technically doesn’t have any specific legislation outlawing the use of drones, authorities do not like them over their territories. They are being charged with violating the Export and Import law. Those who export/import prohibited goods can be fined and jailed up to three years.

On top of the drone charges, immigration officials are also trying to charge the pair and their two interpreters for violating the 1947 Immigration Act. Under this Act, individuals who remain in the country after the infringement of rules can be fined and jailed up to five years.

Lau and Mok’s defense attorneys are currently working on getting the export and import charges dismissed.

Read the full story here

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Thailand to Draft New Industrial Design Act

Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property is in the process of drafting a new industrial design law that is set to change the way industrial designs are assessed, registered and protected, both in the country and internationally.

If passed, the law would amend the Thai Patent Act, removing the industrial design aspect altogether to make way for separate legislation.

The bill would bring the following changes:

·         An Extended Term of Protection

The current protection period of ten years would be reduced to five. However, it would also have the possibility of being renewed twice, enabling a full term of up to 15 years.

·         A Creativity Requirement

The current law requires designs to be only “novel” and “industrially applicable”. The new law would introduce an extra requirement for creativity, which means that designs consisting only of well-known shapes, such as those found in geometry or nature, would not be protected.

Thailand trademark and IP attorneys specialize in patent and trademark filing.

·         New Time Restraints for Examination

The system by which applications are assessed and registered would be streamlined to take less time. The current extended period of 180 days will be cut in half, allowing an initial 60-day period with the possibility of an extention for an extra 30 days.

·         All-in-One Applications

While the current law requires applications to make individual applications for each country they wish their design to be registered in, the new legislation will allow international registration to be granted with a single application.

The bill is being drafted in preparation for Thailand’s compliance with the ASEAN IPR Action Plan, which requires all ASEAN countries to become a contracting party to the Geneva Act of 1999 under the Hague Agreement by 2018.

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Hong Kong to Criminalize Mockery of Chinese National Anthem

According to Shanghaiist (http://shanghaiist.com), disrespecting the Chinese national anthem will soon be a criminal offense in Hong Kong.

The act is already illegal in China and punishable by up to 15 days in prison with the possibility of further criminal charges being added.

Chaninat & Leeds’ Thailand criminal defense lawyers assist foreigners and Thai citizens accused of crimes (http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/criminal-defense.html)

The law is thought to be implemented to combat widespread disrespect of the anthem at Hong Kong football matches, where large groups of fans have protested by turning their backs and booing while the anthem is played.

Read the full story here (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/10/16/hong-kong-national-anthem-law.php)

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Judge Rules that ‘A Feeble No May Mean Yes’ in Rape Cases

A judge in India overturned a rape conviction earlier this week, explaining that despite the victim’s verbal and physical resistance, the accused had reason to believe that she consented, according the Guardian.

Bollywood movie director Mahmood Farooqui was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted for the rape of an American graduate student at his home last year. After appealing his conviction, a judge ruled in his favor and overturned it.

Justice Ashutosh Kumar explained that he had to give Farooqui “the benefit of the doubt” because “instances of woman behavior are not unknown that a feeble no may mean a yes”. The victim testified that she had repeatedly refused Farooqui’s advances and physically resisted, but he restrained her when she tried to prevent him from removing her clothes.

Chaninat & Leeds’ family lawyers help couples to separate property and marital assets during divorce in Thailand

The verdict is raising concerns about what constitutes consent in India. Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy said it “muddies the water and will confuse a lot of the issues around consent”. The Times of India also criticized it, saying that it “set a potentially dangerous precedent that a no does not always necessarily mean no”.

Read the full story here

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Construction Starting on High-Speed Rail from Bangkok-Korat

A high-speed train route is set to be built from Bangkok and Korat, with construction starting in November, Coconuts Bangkok reports.

A team of Chinese Engineers are being brought in to work on the project. First, they are required to pass examinations on the legal and ethical codes for foreign engineers in Thailand and environmental safety. After that, they will hand over blueprints to the State Railway of Thailand, and construction will commence

When complete, the route will provide locals and tourists with a fast and convenient way to visit Korat, which is most widely known for its national park, Khao Yai. The area has also become a hit with Thailand real estate developers, who have seen the opportunity to build property there. However, Thailand real estate lawyers warn that there is an increasing amount of illegal title deeds that encroach on public land. This is something to watch out for when browsing land or property in the province.

Read the full story here

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Indonesia Could Outlaw Sex Outside Marriage, Australians Warned

A petition to outlaw sex outside of marriage in Indonesia could affect foreign tourists who frequent the country, News.com.au reports.

The petition was filed by a group called Family Love Alliance, and if successful, it would also outlaw same-sex relations, as gay marriage is illegal in the country.

Andreas Harsono, Human Rights Watch Indonesian researcher, said that it would result in further discrimination against the LGBT community. He called it “ill-informed and bigoted” and said that it was “similar to the anti-LGBT rhetoric espoused by Indonesian officials and politicians earlier this year”.

Chaninat & Leeds’ attorneys can help clients file for overseas divorce in Thailand when they or their spouse are living abroad

Members of the LGBT community suffer discrimination throughout Indonesia. This is in part due to the predominantly Muslim population. Harsono said that very conservative Muslims see homosexuality as a mental illness.

“They believe if they accept it in their society, God’s anger will be on them,” he said.

Indonesia is an extremely popular tourist destination for Australians, who flock to Bali in particular. If law is amended, tourists who are caught having sex outside of marriage could face arrest.

Read the full story here

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