Introduction
This guide will help you research the legal systems of the 10 Southeast Asian nations that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. For information about ASEAN and human rights, see the Southeast Asian page on our Human Rights Research Guide. Japan and Korea have also been added to this Research Guide.
Legal systems of Southeast Asian nations
- Legal Systems in ASEANFrom the ASEAN Law Association. Note that only 7 countries are so far included (not Cambodia, Lao PDR or Myanmar). For each jurisdiction, there are chapters on: Historical Overview, Sources of Law, Government and the State, Legal Procedure and The Legal Profession.
- Foreign Law Guide (Brill)Covers all ASEAN jurisdictions. You can search or browse by jurisdiction or subject. Each jurisdiction includes:
Introductory information on the Government & Legal System, Legal History, Legislation and the Judicial System, and lists primary sources and in what format these are available (including open access online sources) - including official Gazettes, legislation, law reports, and a bibliography of secondary sources such as books.
A list of laws arranged alphabetically by topic.
- Juriglobe - World Legal SystemsIncludes the following alphabetical, graphical and statistical distributions for all countries:
- Modern Legal Systems CyclopediaOn HeinOnline. Although dated, the scholarly chapters provide excellent and detailed information about each of the 10 ASEAN countries.
Doing business in Southeast Asia
- Doing BusinessFrom the World Bank. Provides statistics and other measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 190 countries.
- Doing Business Law LibraryProvides a large collection of business laws and regulations, linking to government sites where possible. To see laws on a particular topic for South East Asian countries, select East Asia & Pacific under the 'Economies' heading and then 'Choose Laws' by topic and then click 'Create Report'.
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)2020 Regional Profile.
- International Comparative Legal GuidesDescribes the law in 41 practice areas relevant to doing business in 140 countries in the world - including the areas of employment law, tax, cartels, arbitration, finance and dispute resolution. 8 of the 10 ASEAN nations are included (not Lao or Cambodia). Includes a very useful 'compare' feature to compare two or more jurisdictions on a particular practice area.
- LexologyCovers 150 jurisdictions and over 80 practice areas spanning competition & regulatory, dispute resolution & litigation, tax, white collar crime, IP, corporate, commercial, banking & finance, infrastructure & transport, energy & natural resources, insurance and compliance. The database can be searched by practice area or jurisdiction. A handy feature is Compare - select a practice area and then two or more jurisdictions to compare the laws in those countries on that topic. Note that Brunei is not included, and many Southeast Asian countries do not include all practice areas.
- Business Monitor OnlineProvides country risk, industry and company intelligence covering global markets and 24 industry sectors - including banking and finance, agribusiness, insurance, mining and tourism. All ASEAN nations are included, and also the Asian region in general.
International business: the new realities by Call Number: Giblin Library High Use 658.049 CAVUPublication Date: Pearson Australia, 2015
General country information
- Country ReviewsAnnually updated in-depth reports of demographic, social, political, economic, business, investment, cultural and environmental information. These are excellent up to date sources of information, which include information on freedoms, human rights, status of women etc.
- Europa World Plus• Use the Countries/Territories tab on the top menu for information on individual ASEAN nations.
• Use the Comparative Statistics tab on the left hand menu to compare two or more countries on specific topics.
• Use the Regions tab on the top menu to access the Far East and Australasia database - this includes introductory information, topical chapters and chapters on organisations, including ASEAN and APEC.
- Human Rights in ASEAN - Member StatesIncludes country information on all 10 ASEAN Member States.
- CIA World Factbook(Open access) includes country information for all 10 ASEAN countries.
- The World Factbook Guide to Country ComparisonsCompares all countries in 80 topic areas under the main headings of Geography, People and Society, Economy, Energy, Communications, Military, Transportation.
Rule of law in ASEAN
- Update on the Rule of Law for Human Rights in ASEAN: The Path to Integration(2016) - includes detailed chapters on all ASEAN nations.
- Human Rights in ASEANSelect Country Background from the top menu. Each country has a section on the Rule of Law & Human Rights.
- World Justice Project Rule of Law IndexUse the interactive map to view each country's scores, or download the latest full report as a PDF.
The Development of the Rule of Law in ASEAN: the state and regional integration by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: CUP, 2017
Research guides
- GlobalexResearch Guides are excellent and up to date overviews of the legal systems of individual countries, guides to legal research and links to primary and secondary material in 9 of the 10 ASEAN nations (not Brunei).
- Sharīʿah Law in South East Asian (ASEAN) Region: Business and Religion - An Exploratory Introductionby Jeong Chung Phuoc (2017)
- Library of Congress Guide to Law OnlineProvides brief information on the legal systems of the 10 ASEAN nations and links to open access sources for legislation and cases.
ASEAN
This page provides general information about ASEAN. For information about ASEAN and human rights, see the Southeast Asian page on our Human Rights Research Guide.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration), which set outs the aims and purposes of ASEAN.
ASEAN - About Us about the history, establishment, structure and activities of ASEAN.
The 10 ASEAN Member States have adopted a set of fundamental principles, as contained in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).
The ASEAN Community comprises three pillars, the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008. It is the foundation for achieving the ASEAN Community by providing the legal status of and institutional framework for ASEAN. It also codifies ASEAN norms, rules and values, sets clear targets for ASEAN; and presents accountability and compliance.
For detailed commentary on the Charter, see the following book:
The ASEAN Charter: A Commentary by Publication Date: National University of Singapore, 2015
Selected books on ASEAN: General and legal
ASEAN Law in the New Regional Economic Order: Global Trends and Shifting Paradigms by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: CUP, 2019
Building Inclusive Democracies in ASEAN by Call Number: BA 320.959 BUILPublication Date: World Scientific, 2019
The New ASEAN in Asia Pacific and Beyond by Call Number: BA 341.2473 NARIPublication Date: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2018
Does ASEAN Matter?: A View from Within by Call Number: on order for Baillieu LibraryPublication Date: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2018
ASEAN 50: Regional Security Cooperation through Selected Documents by Call Number: BA 355.0610959 ASEAPublication Date: World Scientific, 2018
The Regionalisation of Competition Law and Policy Within the ASEAN Economic Community by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: CUP, 2018
The ASEAN Miracle: a catalyst for peace by Call Number: Ba 305.8951059 MAHBPublication Date: NUS Press, 2017
International Intellectual Property and the ASEAN Way: Pathways to Interoperability by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: CUP, 2017
