Myanmar: Analysis of the Second Amendment of the Broadcasting Law Finally, a new section 105-a provides that offences under the Broadcasting Law shall be cognizable offences. This means that police can make an arrest for such offences without a warrant, normally only as long as reasonable grounds for this exist. Normally, the category of cognizable offences is reserved for the very most serious crimes, given the significantly expanded police powers that these offences engage. Examples include actions like murder, waging war, rape and kidnapping.7 The offences in question simply do not reach this level of seriousness. Re comme n dation ! The expanded sanctions in sections 92-95, as well as new sections 99-a and 105-a should be removed. 7 See, for example, Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty, “What is a Cognizable and Non-Cognizable offence in India?” LawRato, 22 September 2021, https://lawrato.com/indian-kanoon/criminal-law/what-is-acognizable-and-non-cognizable-offence-in-india-612. The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 6