The Independent Lawyers' Association of Myanmar (ILAM): Challenges Facing the Legal Transplant of International Expectations for a Bar Association into a Local Context

Abstract

The Independent Lawyers'Association ofMyanmar (ILAM) is an attempt to create an independent national bar association within Myanmar. ILAM is a product of efforts by international entities such as the International Bar Association (IBA) and domestic lawyers throughout Myanmar to form a nation-wide bar association that follows international ideas regarding a legal profession independent of state control. The introduction of such ideas deviates from Myanmar's history, which placed lawyers under the control of the state and made the legal system an instrument of authoritarian rule. The growth of ILAM is a testament to legal reform currently taking place in Myanmar, but it is also a mirror to the challenges of transplanting international notions of an independent legal profession into a formerly closed developing country emerging into a larger global community. The experiences of ILAM offer insights regarding theories of legal transplants, particularly for Gunther Tuebner's notion of a legal irritant. The analysis uses ILAM as a case study to draw out implications regarding the nuances of legal transplant theory and generate lessons for similar efforts elsewhere to promote international ideas in local contexts. Show more