ASEAN lawyers reject RI bid for legal body
ASEAN lawyers reject RI bid for legal body
JAKARTA (JP): ASEAN Law Association (ALA) president Mohamed
Dzaiddin bin Hj Abdullahon has shot down the proposal from
Indonesian advocates hoping to establish their own business law
association.
The idea of a business law association was proposed by the
Indonesian Advocates Association (AAI) to cope with the
increasing number of legal problems stemming from international
business activities.
Dzaiddin said after the ALA's annual conference at the
Shangri-La Hotel that the proposal had to be turned down because
its activities would overlap those of the ALA.
"We already have a legal body handling business issues in the
region," said Dzaiddin, a federal court judge in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
The Association of Southeast Asean Nations groups Indonesia,
Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam.
The two-day conference discussed a range of topics from
judicial cooperation to legal education, though the results of
the talks were not made available.
Apparently disappointed, legal observer Harjono Tjitrosoebono
said there was little to expect from the conference because most
of the participants are government supporters.
Dzaiddin said, "The real challenge we face is how to make the
AFTA framework more effective, not setting up another association
which will overlap it," he said.
AAI chairman Yan Apul was not available for further comment.
The ASEAN Free Trade Area, or AFTA, will go into effect in the
year 2003. The regional market liberalization exercise is
expected to enhance intra-ASEAN exports and ease the region's
dependence on trade with the outside world, particularly the
West.
The conference was attended by 40 representatives from the
ASEAN member countries. Indonesian Chief Justice Soerjono, who
hosted the conference with the minister of justice, was also
present.
The ALA includes members from ASEAN's legal communities,
including government and private lawyers.
Founded in 1979 on the recommendation of ASEAN, it was
established to provide a consultation and information-exchange
forum for lawyers in the region.
The association hopes to improve legal communication among
ASEAN countries with different legal systems. Malaysia, Brunei
and Singapore have use the Anglo Saxon system; Indonesia has a
Dutch-oriented legal system and the Philippines has adopted an
America-oriented one.
Dzaiddin said the association plans to hold a seminar on
business law in cooperation with the University of the
Philippines in Manila next January.
Shamsul-Bahrain bin Ibrahim, the general secretary of ALA,
said that the association has conducted a study on the business
laws concerning foreign investment and foreign investors.
He said that within the framework of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the association has recommended that
the ASEAN governments not receive any western countries wanting
to compete for business in the region because most ASEAN
countries are still not prepared. (16)