Building the Rules-Based ASEAN Community: Strengthening the Centre

Abstract of the Lecture

In 2007 the ASEAN Charter was signed by the Heads of State/Government in Singapore.  The aim was to create a rules-based ASEAN Community comprising three pillars: the ASEAN Economic Community, the ASEAN Political-Security Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.  The ASEAN Community will be officially established this year.  But can the central institution of ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat, cope with the challenge of supporting the legal infrastructure that must exist for a rules-based community to exist?

At the very least, significant resources need to be devoted to creating a proper Legal Service.  The function of the Legal Service would be to support the Secretary-General in his role as Chief Administrative Officer of ASEAN, as well as to provide the institutional back-up for the making of rules, dispute resolution and advising the various ASEAN organs on the noodle-bowl of ASEAN instruments.  The grand ambition to establish an integrated, people-oriented, rules-based ASEAN single market and investment area committed to the rule of law will not be achieved unless the centre is strengthened considerably.

Speaker: Professor Walter Woon
Chairperson: Professor Tommy Koh
Distinguished Guest: Mr George Yeo

PROGRAMME
4:30 pm – Registration
5:00 pm – Welcome by Dean, Faculty of Law
5:05 pm – Introduction by Mr George Yeo
5:10 pm – Lecture by Professor Walter Woon
Question & Answer Session
5:45 pm – Book Introduction by Professor Tommy Koh
5:50 pm – Book Launch
6:00 pm – Reception

About the Speaker

Professor Walter Woon read law at the National University of Singapore on a Development Bank of Singapore Scholarship, graduating with First Class Honours in 1981. He then proceeded to Cambridge University on a Commonwealth Scholarship, graduating with an LL.M (First Class Honours) in 1983. He was called to the Singapore Bar in 1984 and appointed Senior Counsel in 2007. Professor Woon is currently David Marshall Professor at the Law Faculty and Deputy Chairman of the Centre for International Law (CIL), National University of Singapore. He has previously been AttorneyGeneral, Solicitor-General, a nominated Member of Parliament and ambassador to Germany, Greece, the European Union, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Holy See. In 2007, he was an alternate member of the High Level Task Force for the drafting of the ASEAN Charter, functioning as the leader of the Singapore delegation during the second part of the process. He presented the completed Charter to the Foreign Ministers for signing by the Heads of State/Government at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007.

About the Book

Written by one of the people involved in the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Charter, this meticulously researched publication helps readers navigate the ambiguities of the Charter by detailing an insider’s background, provision by provision, of the debates that went into the making of the ASEAN Charter. It not only explains how the provisions of the Charter came to be drafted, but also how they relate to the realities of diplomatic practice. This volume will be an indispensable reference for scholars, working diplomats, and businesses and institutions that have a stake in ASEAN.

The ASEAN Charter, A Commentary by Walter Woon, published by NUS Press, will be launched in conjunction with the David Marshall lecture.