ASEAN Law Academy Advanced Programme

Module contributor: Dr Tan Hsien-Li, Co-Director of ASEAN Law Academy

This module discusses how governance and decision-making is carried out in the ASEAN region. It demonstrates where the loci of power lies, how ASEAN is firmly an intergovernmental organization, and how adherence to the rule of law and the rule of institutions in building a rules‐based ASEAN does not detract from the sovereignty that member states regard so highly. It will also show ASEAN’s rules‐based evolution as a sui generis process.

• The governance modality—ASEAN as an international/regional organisation vs ASEAN as an aggregation of member states
• Organisational efficacy or institutional mimesis
• Decision‐making in ASEAN—consensus, negative consensus in the Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism, ASEAN minus X (only on economic matters)
• The institutions and agencies in ASEAN carrying out the laws and policies, especially the ASEAN legal department in treaty interpretation and clarification
• The legal role and powers of the ASEAN Secretary‐General and the Secretariat vs those of the Committee of Permanent Representatives and the Member States

Click here for the reading list and more information on the module.