The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) : Contribution to the study of institutionalization in International Public Law ; L'Association des Nations de l'Asie du Sud-Est (ASEAN) : Contribution à l'étude du processus d'institutionnalisation dans le droit international public

Abstract

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one of the most ancient regionalorganizations in Asia. Created in 1967 by the Bangkok Declaration, an interstate declaration, ASEANdid not have a clear legal status until 2007, date of its constituent Charter adoption. Lacking aconventional basis, ASEAN however did not lack the characteristics of an international organization.During the 40 years following its creation, it had chosen a mode of functioning mainly based onrelationship and not on rules of law. The political predominance in the ASEAN functioning therefore leftonly a secondary place to the rules of law, somewhat ambiguous. This particularity, so-called ASEANway, has made ASEAN an organization geared towards the individual interests of its members. In2007, ASEAN adopted a constituent Charter, whose aim is to transform ASEAN into a rule-basedorganization. This Charter, opening a new era for ASEAN, raised it to the rank of internationalorganization – derived subject of international law. It seems to call into question the place of politics inits functioning. The Charter nevertheless reinforced the ASEAN way, which shows the limits of ASEAN.The study of the ASEAN institutionalization aims at proving the cause of the predominance of ASEANway on the law and its repercussions on interstate relationships. This present study carries out theexamination of the link between the aims and the principles as an axiomatical framework of ASEAN, ofits institutional system and its legal order. ; L'Association des nations de l'Asie du sud-est (ASEAN) est l'une des organisationsrégionales les plus anciennes en Asie. Créée en 1967 par la Déclaration de Bangkok, une déclarationinterétatique, l'ASEAN n'avait pas un statut juridique clair jusqu'en 2007, date de l'adoption de saCharte constitutive. A défaut d'une base conventionnelle, l'ASEAN ne manquait pourtant pas descaractéristiques d'une organisation internationale. Pendant les quarante années qui ont suivi sacréation, elle avait choisi un mode de fonctionnement fondé ...