Ong, Janet Vylle T.

Group 2

Lalas, John Kristian P.

Section: G05

Basic Legal Ethics

Atty. Cruz

Chapter 1: Introduction
Over the last decade, the heightened globalization has taken over the world
immensely, and it has accelerated global growth and poverty reduction. Consequently,
states are more engaged and open with the interaction, integration and discourse with
other world elements towards their mutual interests. Non-state organizations such as:
United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)are features of globalization. The free market is still
the primary catalyst of globalization, however, States are also making steps toward the
political, social, and even professional interdependence among countries.
The free flow of skilled labor is one of the key elements in the integration of
ASEAN, but it presently excludes the legal profession. Which leads us to the question:
Is there a need to liberalize the legal profession in the Philippines? Should we open our
gates to allow foreign lawyers to practice in the country? Although it may be logically
and rationally sound to liberalize, there are a lot of things the Philippines should consider
before allowing it.
This paper is motivated upon making an in-depth discussion of the liberalization
of the legal profession in the Philippinesfirst, by providing a brief background of the
ASEAN and its integration, second, by making an operational definition of the concept of
Liberalization, and taking a stand on whether our country should allow it, third, by
weighing in its advantages and disadvantages, and lastly the amendment of laws.

http://www.arabesques-editions.com/journal/eric_koo/23124812.html
http://www.rappler.com/nation/85481-sereno-liberalized-legal-profession

A. ASEAN Member States1

The following are the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN):
Country
Brunei

Capital
Bandar Seri

Language(s)
Malay, English

1 http://www.asean.org/asean/asean-member-states/

Currency
Brunei Dollar

Begawan
Cambodia

Phnom Penh

Khmer

Riel

Indonesia

Jakarta

Indonesian

Rupiah

Laos

Vientiane

Lao

Kip

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Malay, English,
Chinese, Tamil

Ringgit

Myanmar

Nay Pyi Taw

Myanmar

Kyat

Philippines

Manila

Filipino, English,
Spanish

Peso

Singapore

Singapore

English, Malay,
Mandarin, Tamil

Singapore Dollar

Thailand

Bangkok

Thai

Baht

Vietnam

Ha Noi

Vietnamese

Dong

B. Brief History of the ASEAN Integration

On August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was
established in Bangkok, Thailand. The ASEAN Declaration was signed by the five
founding fathers: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The Foreign
Ministers who signed the document are the following: Adam Malik for Indonesia,
Narciso Ramos for the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak for Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam for
Singapore and Thanat Khonam for Thailand.2
Brunei (January 7, 1984), Vietnam (July 28, 1995), Laos (July 23, 1997), Myanmar (July
23, 1997) and Cambodia (April 30, 1999) later on joined the ASEAN. Today, these ten
member states make up the ASEAN3
ASEAN Motto
The motto of the ASEAN is One Vision, One Identity, One Community.
ASEAN Flag

2 http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/history/
3 http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview/

The ASEAN Flag represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic ASEAN. The
colours of the Flag blue, red, white and yellow represent the main colours of the flags
of all the ASEAN Member States.4
The blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and dynamism,
white shows purity and yellow symbolises prosperity.5

C. Relationship and Status of the ASEAN countries, at present

- Thanks to the rapid economic growth in the region, ASEAN countries are making good
progress in achieving their Millennium Development Goals in general.
- Singapore attained its highest growth in the 1970s. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia
followed suit in the late 1980s and early 1990s after their policy shift to promote exportdriven growth starting the late 1980s. In the wake of the Asian economic crisis, these
states saw growth rates shift to a downward trend. In contrast, the Philippines enjoy a
rising growth rate, despite being the only country among the senior ASEAN countries
- The Declaration of ASEAN Concord II in 2003 called for a strengthening of integration
in the areas of security and socio-cultural cooperation.
- The review of ASEANs recent history makes clear that the integration efforts have
been gathering momentum in the economic area. For tariff liberalization, ASEAN unified
the duty classification criteria, successively cut tariff rates ahead of schedule and reduced
exempted items in stages.

4 http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-flag/
5 Id.

http://jica-ri.jica.go.jp/IFIC_and_JBICIStudies/english/publications/reports/study/country/pdf/asean_03.pdf

_________________
D. Nature of the laws
Country

Law/Legal System

Brunei

English common law, Shariah law6

Cambodia

Common law, Cambodian customary law7

Indonesia

Civil law and customary law8

Laos

Civil law with similarity to the French legal system9

Malaysia

Common Law10

Myanmar

English Common law, customary law of the family11

Philippines

Blend of civil and common system; laws: Constitution, statutes,

6 http://www.academia.edu/1332896/The_State_of_Brunei_Darussalam
7 http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_31083-1522-1-30.pdf?120720080906
8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_legal_systems#Common_l
aw
9 http://www.indexmundi.com/laos/legal_system.html
10 http://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutionallaw/english-common-law-law-essays.php
11 http://www.moj.go.jp/content/000101543.pdf

treaties, convention and judicial decisions12

Singapore

English common law13

Thailand

Based on civil law but has been influenced by common law14

Vietnam

Based on French civil law system15

12 http://www.aseanlawassociation.org/papers/phil_chp2.pdf
13 http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/
14 http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Thailand.html
15 http://kenfoxlaw.com/legal-topics/12958-basic-structure-of-vietnamlegal-system.html