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{{Infobox document|document_name=Penal Code of Myanmar<br/>{{my|ရာဇသတ်ကြီး}}|image=|image_size=|image_alt=|caption=|image2=|image2_size=|image2_alt=|caption2=|orig_lang_code=en|title_orig=India Act XLV, 1860|date_created=|date_presented=|date_ratified=|date_effective=1 May 1861|date_repeal=|date_superseded=|location_of_document=|commissioned=|writer=|signers=|media_type=|subject=|purpose=|official_website=|wikisource=|wikisource1=|wikisource2=|wikisource3=|wikisource4=|wikisource5=}}

The '''Penal Code of Myanmar''' is the official [[criminal code]] of [[Myanmar]]. The code was enacted on 1 May 1861 during [[British rule in Burma]] and is divided into 23 chapters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Myanmar - Penal Code, 1861. |url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=61342&p_country=MMR&p_count=110 |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=ILO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kreß |first=Claus |url= |title=The Crime of Aggression: A Commentary |last2=Barriga |first2=Stefan |date=2016-10-27 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-10749-5 |language=en}}</ref> The Penal Code of Myanmar is nearly identical to the [[Indian Penal Code]], due to their shared origins under British rule.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Leader-Elliott |first=Ian |date=2017 |title=Review of Criminal Law in Myanmar |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44986449 |journal=Singapore Journal of Legal Studies |pages=192–199 |issn=0218-2173}}</ref>

Sections 505(a) and 505(b) of the Penal Code are commonly used against journalists, activists, and protestors.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-05-07 |title=Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Echoes of the Past, Crises of the Moment, Visions of the Future |url=https://clinics.law.harvard.edu/blog/2021/05/beyond-the-coup-in-myanmar-echoes-of-the-past-crises-of-the-moment-visions-of-the-future/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=HLS Clinical and Pro Bono Programs |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2021-01-04 |title=Burma’s Political Prisoners and U.S. Policy |url=https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1350666/download |website=Congressional Research Service}}</ref> As of 30 April 2020, 8 of the 50 convicted political prisoners were serving sentences for violating one or both of said sections.<ref name=":1" /> In the aftermath of the [[2021 Myanmar coup d'état]], the military junta amended section 505(a) to criminalise "fake news" and "incitement" against the military.<ref name=":0" /> Lawyers who represent activists and politicians have also been charged under section 505(a).<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-08-30 |title=Justice denied as regime targets activists’ lawyers |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/justice-denied-as-regime-targets-activists-lawyers/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}}</ref>

Section 377 criminalises consensual same-sex sexual conduct, and LGBT rights groups have called for the section to be abolished,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-08 |title=Myanmar’s criminal law and justice system perpetuates stigmatization, discrimination, and human rights violations against its LGBTQ people, new report finds |url=https://www.icj.org/myanmars-criminal-law-and-justice-system-perpetuates-stigmatization-discrimination-and-human-rights-violations-against-its-lgbtq-people-new-report-finds/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=International Commission of Jurists |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Myay |first=Chan |date=2013-11-29 |title=LGBT Groups Call for Burma’s Penal Code to Be Amended |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/lgbt-groups-call-burmas-penal-code-amended.html |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Slow |first=Oliver |date=2016-02-27 |title=The left-over laws: Myanmar's colonial hangover |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/the-left-over-laws-myanmars-colonial-hangover/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Indian Penal Code]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{official website|1=https://www.mlis.gov.mm/lsScPop.do?lawordSn=9506%20}}

[[Category:Law of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Criminal codes]]
[[Category:1861 establishments in Burma]]
[[Category:Indian Penal Code| ]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of India]]
[[Category:1861 in British law]]
[[Category:1861 in law]]
[[Category:1861 in India]]

Myanmar Penal Code - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article