By Lokethar
MINISTRIES of the Union Government,the State and Regional Governments and the various departments and organizations under them perform their functions in accordance with the Union Constitution and the Laws enacted by the Hluttaws. The departments and organizations under the various Ministries are responsible for enforcement of the laws they administer.
Law enforcement is a sub-system of society that promotes adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate rules and norms governing that society.To the layman, effective enforcement of the laws and rules by the concerned organs are an indication of good governance.
After the advent of the democratic Government in 2011, many old and outdated laws have been amended or repealed.Many new laws relevant to the present time have been enacted. Enforcement of laws may initially involve making known to the public the salient points of the laws through public talks, the print media , the broadcast media, the Internet and so on. Once the public has been informed it is up to each and every person to abide by the law.
But of course as everyone knows, not every body abides by every law every time. If someone can “get away” with breaking the law, others will follow lawsuit. It seems the attitude among most law breakers is “if the others can do it, so can I”. If this kind of attitude and behaviour prevails among most people for any length of time, it will lead in the extreme case, to breakdown of social norms of society.
Enforcement of the law is tied to the discovery of infringements followed by punitive action as needed. Naturally no one who breaks the law likes to face prosecution in a court of law. However it is the only way to enforce compliance with the law. If breaking the law can initially be “nipped in the bud”, through early discovery and necessary action there will be less problems to tackle later.
Some laws require inspections of establishments or workplaces or locations to discover infringements of law relating to matters such as; illegal constructions, disregard for public safety and health, not granting due rights and privileges, non-compliance with prescribed procedures, non-compliance with prescribed standards and so on. Inspections and taking action also provide means of preventing unlawful acts and behaviours before they get out of hand. Inspections, if properly and faithfully conducted, can prevent further violations by the offender and serve as a signal to others to abide by the Laws and Rules.
Law enforcement, whether by individual “enforcers” or by multi-disciplinary groups comprising of persons with the required expertise and who are empowered by law to perform inspections, may also result in issuing of “warnings” to the law breaker to take remedial action regarding the “non-compliances” pointed out, within a stipulated period of time.
