On 20 November 2007, in Singapore, the Heads of State or Government of the ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, assembled at the 13th ASEAN Summit on the 40th anniversary of the founding, signed the Charter of the Association. It is not the ASEAN Declaration of Bangkok and not the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, a separate instrument of the same session. The Charter has 13 chapters, 55 articles and four annexes: sectoral ministerial bodies, associated entities, the flag and the emblem.

Article 3 confers legal personality on ASEAN as an inter-governmental organisation. Article 4 lists the Member States: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Article 6: admission of new members shall be decided by consensus by the ASEAN Summit upon the recommendation of the Coordinating Council; the criteria are location in the recognised geographical region of Southeast Asia, recognition by all Member States, agreement to be bound by the Charter, and ability and willingness to carry out the obligations of membership. An applicant State shall be admitted upon signing an Instrument of Accession.

Article 7: the Summit, comprising the Heads of State or Government, is the supreme policy-making body and shall meet twice annually, hosted by the Member State holding the Chairmanship. Article 8: the Coordinating Council comprises the ASEAN Foreign Ministers and meets at least twice a year. Article 9 establishes three Community Councils: Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural. Article 11: the Secretary-General is appointed by the Summit for a non-renewable term of five years, selected from among nationals of the Member States based on alphabetical rotation. Article 12: each Member State appoints a Permanent Representative with the rank of Ambassador, based in Jakarta. Article 14: ASEAN shall establish a human rights body, which shall operate in accordance with terms of reference to be determined by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Article 20: as a basic principle, decision-making in ASEAN shall be based on consultation and consensus; where consensus cannot be achieved, the Summit may decide how a specific decision can be made; a serious breach of the Charter or non-compliance shall be referred to the Summit. Article 21 allows, in the implementation of economic commitments, a formula for flexible participation, including the ASEAN Minus X formula, where there is a consensus to do so. Article 34: the working language of ASEAN shall be English. Article 36: the motto shall be "One Vision, One Identity, One Community".

Article 47: this Charter shall be signed by all Member States and shall be subject to ratification in accordance with their respective internal procedures; instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General, who shall promptly notify each deposit. It shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the tenth instrument. The United Nations Treaty Series records entry into force on 15 December 2008. Article 53: the signed original text in English, a single original, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General, who shall provide a certified copy to each Member State. Article 54 provides for registration with the United Nations Secretariat pursuant to Article 102, paragraph 1, of the Charter of the United Nations. Article 52 keeps in effect treaties, declarations and other ASEAN instruments which have been in effect before; in case of inconsistency, the Charter shall prevail.

It is not the Singapore Declaration on the ASEAN Charter, adopted in the same session, not the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of 1976 and not the later terms of reference of the human rights body.

Image: Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, venue of the 13th ASEAN Summit; Ruben Schade, 10 July 2009; CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: ASEAN Charter. Treaty text: Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Singapore, 20 November 2007.