JEAIL > Volume 5(2); 2012 > Student Contribution
Research Paper
Published online: November 30, 2012
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2012.5.2.09

The Future of Informalism in the Economic Integration of ASEAN

Robert Gallo
Griffith University, Australia
Lvl 36, 123 Eagle Street Brisbane QLD 4000 Australia.
Corresponding Author: rgallo@piperalderman.com.au

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This paper examines the doctrine of informalism, its place in the field of jurisprudence and why it influences the international legal system of ASEAN. It analyses the problems associated with the development of ASEAN's international legal system in the context of trade liberalization. It then seeks to answer the question of how ASEAN may enhance trade liberalization through innovations in its legal system and what aspects of an informal legal system may be maintained within a hard-law framework. It does this by analyzing rule-observance in soft law as well as analyzing some examples of flexibility-enabling mechanisms. The paper recommends how instances of legal informalism may be maintained within ASEAN as it seeks to further trade liberalization between its members.

Keywords : Informalism, ASEAN, The ASEAN Way, Relationship-based Legal System, Rule-based Legal System, Credibility, Flexibility, Network Norms, Safeguard Provision, Sunset Provision

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