Improving connectivity between ASEAN's legal systems to address commercial issues

• Main Authors: HSU, Locknie, KOH, Pearlie M. C., YIP, Man
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2017
• Subjects: Business; ASEAN; Asia; legal barriers; trade; investment; laws; Asian Studies; Commercial Law; Public Law and Legal Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2364; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4321/viewcontent/Interim_Report_Final_Sep_2017.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This interim report on legal barriers to doing business in ASEAN coincides with the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN’s founding and the first year of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The team is privileged to be supported by, among others, the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC), given that it is also the 40th anniversary of dialogue relations between Canada and ASEAN. Despite occasional misgivings about the “ASEAN Way”, ASEAN economic integration has come a very long way. The number of member States has grown over the 50 years since ASEAN’s founding, and the joint efforts among these States driving economic growth and integration in the region have been notable. Laws have changed, new institutions and processes have sprung up. Guided by blueprints and action plans, ASEAN is moving increasingly towards being a rules-based economic group. As global uncertainties continue to grow, ASEAN has an important role in unlocking more economic opportunities for its businesses and its citizens. One area where this objective can be advanced is through addressing legal barriers which contribute to business costs in ASEAN. This study, due to be fully completed in the second quarter of 2018, examines business concerns through a legal lens, to identify key legal barriers to trade and investment in ASEAN. Research is being carried out in four main areas: Corporate laws; Trade and investment laws; Land Laws; and Dispute settlement laws and processes. This interim report records a number of key common themes which have surfaced, including the complexity and number of laws, uncertainty of laws, implementation of existing laws and regional agreements and access to legal information. Such issues can contribute to increased business costs and possibly deter or delay business activity. The aim is for the recommendations in this report to be considered by policymakers to further improve the business laws and processes in ASEAN.