Regional Judicial Institutions and Economic Cooperation: Lessons for Asia?

Abstract

Why is Asia lagging behind other regions in creating regional judicial institutions? What lessons from the operation of such institutions elsewhere could be valuable to Asian regional economic integration? I show that Asian states are not unusually averse to refer inter-state disputes over trade, investment, and territory to global judicial institutions. Moreover, Asian states are not unique in their reluctance to resolve regional inter-state disputes through judicial means: Regional judicial institutions elsewhere have also rarely been used to resolve inter-state disputes. The most valuable lesson for Asia from experiences elsewhere is the role that regional courts can play in resolving disputes between administrative agencies and private parties about the implementation of international law. I suggest various ways in which these lessons can be applied.

Keywords: regional integration, Asia, international law, international institutions

JEL Classification: F50, F51, F53, F55