From Treaty-Making to Treaty-Breaking : Models for ASEAN External Trade Agreements

From Treaty-Making to Treaty-Breaking is the first high-level analysis of ASEAN's external trade agreements with non-ASEAN states. It clearly sets out the intended, and unintended, consequences of ASEAN's prevailing method of treaty making, with suggested guidelines for the future. The book begins by asking whether ASEAN trade agreements follow worldwide trends in the substantive content of such agreements. It raises questions such as: to what extent is it possible to continue concluding trade agreements through individual member states?; what are the legal consequences - from negotiation and conclusion (treaty-making) through to possible breach of the agreements (treaty-breaking)?; should ASEAN resort to mixed treaty-making? This study does not seek to give a definitive answer to these questions, rather it opens up the topic to readers by suggesting different possible models for ASEAN trade agreements. This thought-provoking book will appeal to anyone interested in trade negotiations and trade agreements, particularly in Asia.

Pieter Jan Kuijper is Professor of the Law of International Organizations in the Amsterdam Centre of International Law (ACIL), University of Amsterdam. He previously worked for the European Commission, most recently as Principal Legal Advisor and Director of the External Relations and Trade Law team of the Commission Legal Service. He has also been Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the WTO Secretariat (1999–2002). His publications have concentrated on EU law, WTO law and general international law and the relationship between them.

James H. Mathis is an associate professor in the Department of International Law and research fellow in the Amsterdam Center for International Law (ACIL), University of Amsterdam. His research interests include international trade law and the WTO, domestic regulation issues in regional trade agreements, transatlantic trade issues, and regional/international competition policies. James is the managing editor of Legal Issues of Economic Integration, serves on the advisory board for the Trade Law Centre of Southern Africa (TRALAC), and is an occasional advisor on trade and competition issues for UNCTAD, Geneva.

Natalie Y. Morris-Sharma is Counsellor (Legal) at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Singapore to the UN in New York, and Deputy Senior State Counsel with the International Affairs Division of Singapore's Attorney-General's Chambers. Natalie is Singapore's representative on the Sixth Committee, which is the primary forum for the consideration of legal questions in the UN General Assembly. She also advises the Government of Singapore on public international law issues, including regional trade and investment agreements involving ASEAN and EU.