English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
agencies. Denunciations of criminal acts shall be settled by agencies engaged in legal proceedings
according to the criminal procedure legislations.”
The Law on Complaints and Denunciations also contains provisions on privacy and
confidentiality. Article 57 of the law guarantees the right of denunciators to request the confidentiality
of names, addresses and autographs, and Articles 16, 72 and 77 of the Law prohibit
the disclosure of the names, addresses and autographs of denunciators. This is, however,
not enough. It is suggested that, where the disclosure of the denunciator’s identity will lead to
serious harm, stigmatization or trauma, confidentiality and non-disclosure must be applied to
all identifying information.
Recommendation: In relation to the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, it is
recommended that, in cases where serious harm, stigma or trauma will result in disclosure
of the victim’s identity, all identifying information must be kept confidential.
Articles 16, 57, 72 and 77 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations must be amended
in light of this. Private receiving places must also be provided for when receiving
complaints and denunciations to ensure privacy and confidentiality.
Administrative procedure
In relation to administrative procedures, the following are some of the relevant provisions in
the Ordinance on Administrative Violations on women or affecting women disproportionately.
Pregnancy as an extenuating circumstance
Article 8 of the Ordinance on Administrative Violations states that, where the violations are
committed by pregnant women, pregnancy will be considered an extenuating circumstance.
Differential age of application of administrative handling measures
Women above the age of 55 years and men above the age of 60 years who have committed
offences listed in Article 25(2) of the Ordinance on Administrative Violations 182 are not subject
to the administrative handling measure of sending to educational establishments; rather, the
measure to be applied is education at communes, ward and district towns. 183
Recommendation: It is recommended that, in relation to Articles 23 and 25 of the
Ordinance on Administrative Violations, the same age should apply to both men and
women relating to whether they are subjected to sending to education establishments
or to education at communes, wards and district towns.
94
Custody
Article 44 of the Ordinance on Administrative Violations provides for custody as a measure to
prevent administrative violations and to ensure the handling of violations. The custody of peo-
182
Article 25(2) states that: “Subjects to whom the measure of sending to educational establishments shall apply are persons
who have committed acts of infringing upon the properties of domestic or foreign organizations, the properties,
health, honour and/or dignity of citizens or foreigners, breaking social order and safety regularly but not to the extent
of being examined for penal liability, and who have been subject to the application of measure of education at communes,
wards or district towns or not yet subject to the application of this measure but have no given residence places.”
183
Ordinance on Administrative Violations, Articles 23 and 25
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW