This article traces the revenue category and legal concept of the Waste Land in Burma/Myanmar
from its original application by the British colonial apparatus in the nineteenth century, to its
later use in tandem with Burma Army counterinsurgent tactics starting in the 1960s, and finally
to the 2012 land laws and current issues in international investment. This adaptation of colonial
ideas about territorialization in the context of an ongoing civil war offers a new angle for under-

Notification No 62/2012 -
14 Waxing Wagaung 1374 ME
(31, August, 2012) -
Designating the Date of Coming into Force of Farm Land Law...The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation promulgated the following rules by using the
power vested by the section-42, sub-section (a) of farm land law with the approval of
Pyidaungsu Government....
1. These rules shall be called farm land rules.
2. The words and expressions contained in these rules shall mean as contained
in Farm Land Law. And the following words shall mean as described...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, exercising its given rights, and with the approval of
the Union Government, has issued the following rules in accordance with Section 34, Subsection
(a) of the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law - 1. These rules shall be called the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Rules.
2. The terms and expressions used in these rules shall have the same meaning as used in the
Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law. In addition, the following expressions shall
have the meanings as stated below:

The State Law and Order Restoration Council -
The City of Yangon Development Law -
(The State Law and Order Restoration Council Law No. 11/90) -
The 6th Waning Day of Kason, 1352 M.E.
(14th May, 1990)

Namati submits this briefing paper to assist the government of Myanmar and other interested parties in efforts to ensure the
implementation of the 2013 recommendations of Parliament’s Farmland Investigation Commission. The commission is tasked
with scrutinizing land grab cases and to promote justice for Myanmar’s citizens whose land was taken without due process or
compensation.
According to the Secretary General of the Farmland Investigation Commission, as of June 2015, approximately 30,000 cases have

agrarian

Official Burmese and English versions; unofficial English version (Habitat)

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:-
(1) TO MYANMAR LAWYERS:
"a. Lawyers need to form strong networks and associations to support farmers, ethnic groups and community organizations...
b. Lawyers need to develop new skills to participate in policy advocacy, including collecting data about current practices, and engage in a national debate about land rights...
c. Lawyers working on land rights cases need to use all available tools to strengthen their case work (see annex 2 for a list of practical actions lawyers can take).....
(2) TO CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"Myanmar’s agricultural sector has for long suffered due to multiplicity of laws and regulations, deficient and degraded infrastructure, poor policies and planning, a chronic lack of credit, and an absence of tenure security for cultivators. These woes negate Myanmar’s bountiful natural endowments and immense agricultural potential, pushing its rural populace towards dire poverty.

...Through research on Myanmar, we argue that in authoritarian settings where legality has drastically declined, the starting point for cause lawyering lies in advocacy for law itself, in advocating for the regular application of law’s rules.

Table of Contents:
PREAMBLE...
CHAPTER 1: PRELIMINARY -
Article 1.1 Basic Principle of Kawthoolei Land Policy...
Article 1.2 Objectives....
Article 1.3 Nature and scope...Definitions...
CHAPTER 2: GENERAL POLICY MATTERS -
Article 2.1 Basic principles...
Article 2.2 Principles of implementation....
Article 2.3 Rights and responsibilities...
Article 2.4 Policy, legal and organizational frameworks related to
land governance...
CHAPTER 3: RECOGNITION AND ALLOCATION OF TENURE RIGHTS
AND DUTIES:

Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Managemen