Burman. This Court exercises all the powers of a High Court and controls and supervises all branches of the judicial system. It also tries all cases committed for trial by Sessions or High Court in the town of Rangoon and exercises exclusive jurisdiction over European British subjects throughout the province. With this last-mentioned exception, in Upper Burma the Judicial Commissioner exercises all the powers of a High Court. His sway does not extend over the Shan States or the Kachin and Chin Hills, where the highest judicial authorities are the Superintendents and Commissioners respectively. Officers of the Commission in the regular line usually exercise judicial as well as executive powers, as do many members of the Burma and Subordinate Civil Services. But there are separate services, composed of divisional, sessions, district, sub-divisional, and township judges, whose functions are purely judicial. The bulk of the original judicial work is done by Burmese magistrates and judges.
Police. Law and order are maintained by military and civil police under an Inspector-General with several Deputies. The military police were constituted after the annexation of Upper Burma, being enlisted from the martial races of India. Their duties are the maintenance of order, the custody of the frontiers, the domination of turbulent tribes; they have no concern with the detection of crime. Besides Indians, Kachins, Chins, Karens, and more recently Burmans, have been enrolled in the military police. They are officered by Battalion Commandants and Assistant Commandants, temporarily seconded from the Indian army. From time to time, battalions of military police have been converted into regular regiments.
The civil police consists almost entirely of natives of the Province chiefly under European senior officers. Their duties are the prevention and detection of crime and the prosecution of criminals. In recent years, natives of the Province have been placed in charge of the police of several districts.
