ASEAN Law Association Issues Recommendation to Welcome AEC

 
Ali Salmande, Robert Sidauruk
 
Legal practitioners across  the ASEAN region, represented by the ASEAN Law Association (ALA) have organized an Ad Hoc Committee Meeting to discuss the necessary steps for welcoming the ASEAN Economic Community.
 
At the meeting held from 9 – 11 May in Jakarta, the ALA, currenlty chaired by Indonesian Chief Justice Hatta Ali, published seven recommendations that every ASEAN countries must realize for the proper implementation of AEC.
 
Fair access to justice is the first and primary factor as a recommendation. Since the inception of the AEC, it has been predicted that there will be an increase in the number of cross border interactions between ASEAN citizens. Therefore, the ALA must commit to providing legal access to every citizen who needs legal assistance including in criminal and constitutional matters.
 
“This is to be done by preparing credible legal practitioners in ASEAN countries,” said Normin Pakpahan, who leads the Ad Hoc Committee.
 
The second recommendation is to implement legal harmonization between ASEAN countries. To realize this, the ALA will enter cooperation with the ASEAN secretary and government officials under the ASEAN Senior Law Official Meeting (ASLOM). This cooperation will attempt to define and harmonize laws and regulations on investment and trade under the AEC.
 
The third recommendation is to establish an electronic library. This is to provide a complete data base on laws and regulations across ASEAN countries, as well as landmark decisions from high ranking courts in each ASEAN country.
 
Furthermore, the ALA also recommends better human resource development in the legal sector. This point is also incorporated into the fourth recommendation, which calls on ASEAN countries to provide training and education for their judges. Under such training, judges should develop  and maintain a comprehensive understanding on  current legal developments.
 
The fifth recommendation is the establishment of a  Trade and Investment Committee. This committee will be responsible for analysis of ASEAN’s position within the World Trade Organization framework. It will also be responsible for research into changes to trade and investment laws in each ASEAN country.
 
Similar to the fifth recommendation, to further progress the study and research agenda,   under the sixth recommendation, the ALA also recommends the establishment of ASEAN studies centers in universities to encourage legal research on ASEAN countries.
 
The final recommendation is to realize a comprehensive and functioning understanding of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) between arbiters and mediators. The ALA believes that ADR institutions will be the most frequently used institutions to settle  cross-border business dispute once the AEC commences.  
 
Despite the likely prominent use of ADR, differences in arbitration and mediation procedures between ASEAN countries remains the biggest obstacle for ASEAN having a proper ADR institution. Consequently, further cooperation is needed to perform research on current developments in arbitration and mediation.
 
The Ad Hoc Committee Meeting was attended by 18 delegations from nine ASEAN countries as members of the ALA. The countries that participated in the meeting were Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
 
The recommendation under the Ad Hoc Committee Meeting will be ratified by the members at the general meeting of the ALA in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next September.
 
(hot/kc)