Complexity of Legal Harmonisation in Southeast Asia: A Diversity of Legal Systems & Languages

The eleven countries of the Southeast are quite diverse in terms of culture, religion, language and legal system. All members except Thailand were colonies of European powers who introduced their legal systems. Even Thailand, which was never colonised, was influenced by the laws of the European powers. This European influence has resulted in a range of political and legal systems. Although English is the working language of ASEAN, it is the national language of none. Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand use a non-Latin script, and Vietnam uses Latin-based orthography to complicate matters further. The diversity of national and official languages is a crucial element impacting the ability of ASEAN member states to harmonise their laws, so there is a common approach to prosecuting international criminal activity. Such an approach is critical as the ASEAN Economic Community moves to greater integration. The article briefly describes the importance of language in understanding legal concepts. Then, it describes the variety of legal systems in place across Southeast Asia, which, other than the case of Thailand, are vestiges of their colonial past. The article discusses three possible models for harmonisation/ cooperation: a set of model laws, accession to an international treaty, or an agreement to cooperate. In the case of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, where legal systems use English, all three models could be used. For the other seven countries, because of their language diversity, it is argued that the set of model laws is inappropriate. The preferred option is a treaty or convention that sets out the scope and minimum requirements to be included in the local law and the obligations to cooperate. The Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) is a possible model.