Author
Mr Soe Yan Naung
Organisation/Institution
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Law Institute
Country
RUSSIA
Panel
International Law
Title
Approaches to the Implementation of International Obligations in the Practice of State-Members of the ASEAN
Abstract
The implementation of international obligations is a fundamental element in maintaining the authority, stability, and legitimacy of the international legal order. The study shows that differing legal systems across Southeast Asia result in inconsistent incorporation and application of international law, leading to interpretative divergence, legal uncertainty, and regional instability. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), founded in 1967 and transformed into a rules-based international legal entity under the 2007 ASEAN Charter, provides a constitutional framework for regional cooperation, coordination, and dialogue among its member states. The article also studies concrete evidence with the different natures of constitutional provisions, judicial decisions, and legislative practices among ASEAN states, which demonstrates that the lack of uniformity in how ASEAN Member States internalize international law, while some through direct constitutional recognition (monism), others through legislative transformation (dualism). Notable cases such as the Philippines’ Pimentel (2016), Thailand’s Xayaburi Dam decision (2015), Constitutional Court Ruling No. 9/2564 (2021), and Indonesia’s Constitutional Court decisions (2015, 2019) illustrate the differing approaches to implementing international law. Then the study highlights the dialogical practices of ASEAN within member states, where judicial cooperation fosters interpretative alignment and institutional learning without violating sovereignty. However, the 2025 Thailand–Cambodia border conflict, exposed the organization’s limitations in enforcing its own principles of non-use of force and peaceful dispute settlement as codified in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). This incident underscored the gap between ASEAN’s legal commitments and practical implementation. The study argues that implementing international obligations in good faith under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and enhancing ASEAN’s coordination are essential for coherent implementation, legal certainty, and sustainable regional stability. An effective ASEAN coordination framework could therefore harmonies interpretative practices, prevent conflict, and promote regional stability, fulfilling its founding mission of ensuring peace and cooperation.
Biography
I am Soe Yan Naung, a Myanmar citizen born on 22 June 1990, currently pursuing a PhD in Public International Law at the Law Institute of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University). I hold a master’s degree in political science from the Higher School of Economics, Moscow (2019), where I completed my thesis on “Comparative Analysis of Myanmar and Sri Lankan Strategies of National Reconciliation Processes.” My doctoral research, titled “The Role of International Law in the Legal System of Myanmar,” examines the theoretical and practical interaction between international and national legal systems, with a particular focus on ASEAN regional integration and constitutional implementation. My academic interests include the means of implementation of international law, legal pluralism, constitutionalism, and the influence of soft law on regional governance. I have published several scholarly works in VAK-listed journals — peer-reviewed academic journals officially recognized by the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation for advanced degree research — including “Considering Federalism in a Multiethnic Country: The Case of Myanmar” (Russian Association of Political Science, 2023), “The Impact of US-China Competition on Myanmar Federalism” (Social and Humanitarian Knowledge, 2024), “Prospects for the Formation of a Multipolar World” (Scientific Aspect, 2024), and “Approaches to the Correlation of Public International Law and Domestic Law” (International Law Courier, 2025). Through my research, I aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of how developing states can strengthen their domestic legal systems and governance through effective engagement with international and regional legal frameworks.
