TABLE OF CONTENT
List of abbreviations ………..……. x
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER ………. 1 Section 1 – Looking for an effective response to international terrorism:
the opportunity to work at the regional framework? …………...………... 1
I.
Benefits and obstacle to the implementation of thecomprehensive counterterrorism strategy ………...………...……… 1 A. The terrorist threat: evolving in motives, form and means………..……….2 B. Joining force against terrorism: an effective means based on trust…….……... 3
II.
Regional organisations: an adequate intermediary solution………..……...………….… 5 A. Identifying the most effective level to handle transnational issues……...……...…. 5 B. Establishing regional ties to cope with transnational non-traditionalsecurity issues……….…..………...…. 6 1. The geopolitical circumstances leading to various regional organisations ………... 6 2. Different forms of regionalism in Europe and Southeast Asia?... 7 3. Interregionalism: an interest leading to an opportunity?... 9
Section 2 – Constructing the conceptual framework of this doctoral research…………... 9
I.
Purpose of this doctoral research ………..….... 9II.
Methodology and structure………..……….... 11 A. Methodological considerations: between expansion of the approachand deliberate choices……..………..……….…… 11 1. Finding a methodological path towards the resolution of the research question .... 12 a. The choice of a theoretical approach… ……….... 12 b. … determining this doctoral research’s methodology …..………...….. 13 2. Acknowledging the difficulties encountered on the path ……….…… 15
a. Determining which focal points are of interest in a legal literature well-versed in the EU law, but almost completely unfamiliar
with the ASEAN legal framework ………...………... 15 b. Difficulties and limitations in this doctoral analysis ………... 16 B. Outline of the chapters …………...………..……….. 17
Mutual Trust in Regional and Interregional
Cooperation on Counterterrorism
CHAPTER 1
DEFINITIONS OF KEY CONCEPTS: IN SEARCH OF A COMMON
LANGUAGE TO FACILITATE CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION …….……….… 20
Section 1. Terrorism as a specific type of serious transnational crime: putting an end to a long-running uncertainty? ……….. 20
I. Serious transnational crime: qualifying a broad category of offences ………... 21
A. The transnational nature of a crime ……….………..… 21
B. The seriousness element of some transnational offences ….………..….…... 24
II. Terrorist offences: no general definition at the global level despite long-running debates ……….………...…….…. 28
Section 2. Key notions concerning transnational interactions in criminal matters …..… 31
I. Working together to prevent and combat terrorism but how? ……….………….... 33
A. The notions of cooperation, collaboration and coordination: interchangeable or distinct notions? ……….….………... 33
1. Starting from the basics: looking at the ordinary meaning of these terms ………... 33
2. What do international and regional organisations make of them? ……..…..……... 34
3. Looking elsewhere to find a more precise meaning? ………..………..……... 36
4. The different forms of cooperation in criminal matters based on the ill-defined key terms ………...………... 38
B. A mix of “sectorial v. transversal” approaches leading to “informal v. formal” methods of cooperation in criminal matters ….……..……….. 39
II. Among key mechanisms of cooperation: sharing information and intelligence between competent national authorities ………..………….. 41
A. Information and intelligence: coping with diverging definitions ………..………... 42
1. A general international guidance and confusing regional frameworks for the respective Member States ……….. 43
2. Some serious national discrepancies to overcome ………... 47
3. An element of significant importance in the qualification and handling of data: the secrecy of data ………...… 51
4. Finding the appropriate definitions of ‘information’ and ‘intelligence’ ……….... 51
5. Data and personal data: a generic terminology that tends to be more operational ………..…. 52
B. Sharing or exchanging information and intelligence? ……….…………..…. 53
C. Who are the competent national authorities involved in information and intelligence sharing? .………...….... 54
Section 3. Still a long road towards a shared language ………..………..……... 57
Section 1 - An unclear concept widely used to justify
and foster cross-border cooperation in criminal matters ……….…….. 64
I. Providing contours to a concept essential to the development
of more interdependent relations ……….………...……….……... 65 A. Establishing a community of values and interests:
the starting point in building up mutual trust ………..……… 67 B. Reciprocity: a tool for building trusting relations
and its distinct application in the EU and ASEAN ………...………..……… 69 C. Building trust in order to reach confidence ………...………...…… 72 II. A three-dimensional concept supporting other principles
and mechanisms of cooperation ………...…..………. 73 A. Mutual trust in the EU: a growing support
to cooperation mechanisms with legal implications ………..………. 73 B. Mutual trust in ASEAN: a vague concept without any legal dimension ……..…...…76
Section 2 - Finding ways to build up mutual trust:
tailored-made approaches for the different regions ………..…….. 78
I. Seeking grounds supporting and accompanying mutual trust:
diverging approaches ………...……….…….. 78 A. Approximation of legislations: an essential step towards mutual trust
or a way to avoid resorting to trust? ……….………...…..……. 79 1. Strengthening the legal dimension of mutual trust
through the approximation of EU national legislations ………..…... 80 2. The absence of approximation of ASEAN national legislations:
an avenue worth exploring? ………..…. 83 B. Reaching regional human rights standards: another essential step
in building up mutual trust or a way to consolidate it? ………..…. 85 1. Looking at the fundamentals of the EU understanding of mutual trust:
common human rights standards ……….….…. 85 2. Looking for regional human rights standards in ASEAN: a slow and
difficult political endeavour unrelated to the building up of mutual trust? ….….. 90 II. Tailoring regional methods to build up mutual trust:
ways to bolster cooperation ………...……….… 91 A. A trend towards an institutionalisation and ‘legal’ accompaniment
of mutual trust in the EU: aiming for legal expectations? ………..… 92 B. Avoiding any legal expectation:
a more flexible understanding of mutual trust in ASEAN ……….… 93 C. Drawing a grid of analysis for regional studies: verifying of a hypothesis ……….... 96
Section 3 - Mutual trust: a three-dimensional and adaptable principle
as a means or driving force behind cross-border cooperation ………..…... 98
CHAPTER 3
TAILORING ONE’S INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL ARCHITECTURE ……... 100
Section 1 - Regional institutional and legal designs: what are States getting themselves into ………...…..…. 101
I. The different forms of collective engagements: between challenges to be overcome and opportunity to enhance States’ response to transnational issues ...………... 101
A. Regional integration and other transnational interactive designs ……….... 102
1. What does it mean to engage in a regional integration project? ………..… 102
2. Integration and its relation with other forms of joint activities ……….... 103
B. National sovereignty: the main challenge to regional integration ……...……….... 104
II. Forging a regional identity: the basis for a more in-depth regional integration? ………..……….… 110
Section 2 - All roads do not necessarily lead to the same regional institutional and legal architecture ……….…. 114
I. The rising of the ASEAN institutional framework: proof that different regional integration approaches are possible ………... 114
A. The slow emergence of a will to develop a Southeast Asian regional architecture ………. 115
B. An ASEAN architecture sparingly adopting a rules-based approach? ……... 116
1. The establishment of the ‘ASEAN Way’: an historically-based tool of regional governance ………..…. 117
2. Towards a legal intrusion into the ‘ASEAN Way’: the establishment of the ASEAN Community ………... 119
3. The adoption of the ASEAN Charter: a decisive step towards a rules-based approach? ………... 121
II. Intergovernmental design v. supranational design: a distinction only seemingly clear ………..………... 122
A. Finding common ground in different forms of international organisations: a basis for the development of regional organisations ……..………..…... 122
B. The emergence of a legal personality: has it made changes to the regional organisation and its members? ………..………. 125
1. The establishment of a permanent organisation, with lawful objects and equipped with administrative and/or policy-making organs …..……..……. 126
2. The distribution of competences and exercise of legal powers within each region ……….………….. 127
a. A diverging distribution of competences in the EU and ASEAN …....……... 127
b. Different regional organisational structures ………...……. 128
c. The existence of control over the regional institutions’ and its Member States’ actions ………..…..…….. 134
d. The privileges and immunities of the regional organisations within their own ‘territory’ ………...…… 134
3. The existence of legal powers exercisable by the two regional organisations on the international scene ……….………... 135
Section 3 – ‘Chicken and the egg’ dilemma: the symbiotic relationship
between regional integration and mutual trust ………..……… 138
CHAPTER 4
THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN REGIONAL COUNTER- TERRORISM ARSENALS & MUTUAL TRUST: THE DIFFERENT
OUTCOMES OF THREE-TIER VERTICAL NORMATIVE DIALOGUES …..……. 141 Section 1 – Regional legal orders in counterterrorism:
what normative value do they bring to the international normative panorama? …..…. 144
I. Agreeing on a shared objective and ways to reach it:
the foundation of mutual trust? ……….……….………... 145 A. Criminalising terrorist offences: a more superior top-down influence
in ASEAN than in the EU ………... 145 1. The complicated inception of international antiterrorism norms ……..….…….. 146 2. A Southeast Asian counterterrorism legal architecture
following the UN impulses ………..……… 148 3. A more autonomous and in-depth EU counterterrorism legal framework ...…. 150 B. Criminalising transnational crime: between strong top-down influence
in ASEAN and cross-fertilisation in the EU ………..………. 153 II. The adoption of regional human rights standards:
influenced by or influencing international norms? ………..………..… 155 A. Variable protection of human rights in the process of
building up mutual trust in criminal matters ……….………..……….... 155 1. A large international umbrella for the protection of human rights …..……….... 155 2. A powerless regional human rights legal architecture
in Southeast Asia … ...………..…..…… 157 3. … in contrast with a binding human rights protection system essential
in building up mutual trust and enhancing cooperation within the EU …...….... 162 B. Serious challenges for the right to privacy in a world
where having data is everything ………...……….………….… 165 1. A vague international guidance for privacy issues ………….……..…………... 165 2. Reinforcing mutual trust through the establishment
of equivalent data protection standards within the EU ……….………...………. 166 3. Intraregional cooperation without guaranteeing the rights at risk:
an issue for mutual trust in ASEAN? …….………..………… 169
Section 2 – Regional legal orders in counterterrorism:
Tailored by and for their respective Member States ………..……... 170
I. Reaching a comprehensive counterterrorism regional legal framework:
a fruitful vertical dialogue between the EU and its Member States …………...…..…. 171 A. Reaching a harmonised regional counterterrorism legal framework
through a fruitful vertical dialogue between national and EU norms …...…... 172 1. Primary EU legislation going deeper into the requirement of approximation
2. The gradual regionalisation of the criminalisation of terrorist offences ………... 175 a. Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA:
the cornerstone of the fight against terrorism ………..…….. 175 b. Council Framework Decision 2008/919/JHA:
criminalising inchoate terrorist offences ………..……. 178 c. Directive 2017/541: consolidating the intergovernmental framework
decisions and responding to new challenges ………..…... 179 B. Regional human rights standards in criminal matters:
a long-awaited step towards building up more effective mutual trust ………...…... 180 1. The insertion of human rights protection into
the EU ‘constitutional’ architecture: a strong influence of Member States ..…... 181 2. The place of human rights in the anti-terrorism texts …………..….…………... 184 3. What better protection than a lex specialis for human rights
to be applied during criminal proceedings?... 185 C. The EU: an effective legislator and controller of the implementation
of the regional instruments ………..……….………. 186 II. Making an ASEAN comprehensive counterterrorism legal order rise
out of diversity? Looking for a common ground ………..…………..…………... 187 A. The regional level in Southeast Asia:
A forum without top-down influence and added value ………..…….……... 188 1. Regional approximation of anti-terrorism norms:
a shy statement of political willingness from ASEAN Member States .…..…… 188 2. A clear absence of legal and political willingness
to regionalise human rights standards ……….………..…... 191 B. Diversity prevailing among ASEAN Member States’ legislations:
making approximation utopic? ….………..…….….. 193 1. Overcoming discrepancies between national anti-terrorism norms:
a feasible task? …….……….….. 193 2. Fundamental discrepancies between ASEAN Member States’ approach
to human rights making unlikely an approximation of legislations
in a near future ………... 200
Section 3 – The results of vertical influences over the construct of regional
legal frameworks: a fostering of mutual trust facilitating cooperation? ………... 206
CHAPTER 5
SHARING DATA WITH PEERS FROM THE SAME REGION:
A MATTER OF MUTUAL TRUST ………...…….. 208 Section 1 – A correlation between the different dimensions of mutual trust
and the different forms of horizontal cross-border cooperation ………..…… 211
I. Formal strategic relations and informal operational horizontal cross-
II. Regional cooperation mechanisms fostered by and/or vectors
of mutual trust: two different methods and level of engagements ………... 217
A. Looking for more efficiency in intra-EU cooperation: the operationalization of the three-dimensional mutual trust ……...…………..… 218
1. Pure intergovernmental cooperation: the first steps towards the development of mutual trust and data sharing …...……….… 219
2. The progressive move towards a more integrated EU response vis-à-vis transnational criminal challenges ……...…...………...…….... 223
a. The development of judicial cooperation ……..………..………... 223
b. The development of police cooperation ………....………..… 228
c. Developments pertaining both to judicial and police cooperation ...…... 229
3. The emergence and nourishment of a three-dimensional mutual trust ……... 232
B. A long way to go before a ‘legally effective’ intra-ASEAN cooperation: mutual trust in the making? ……….………...……... 232
1. A slow but progressive recognition of the added value of a regional cooperative response against terrorism in a context of tensions and significant differences ………... 233
a. Recognising the need for cross-border cooperation against transnational crime leading to strategic regional channels of discussions and operational sub-regional arrangements …………..……...… 234
b. The first steps towards ASEAN-wide cooperation in preventing and countering terrorism: between strategic and operational responses ..……..… 236
2. The weak added value of regional norms in fostering horizontal data sharing ………..………..…..…….… 237
a. The ASEAN Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters: a first legal stone for horizontal cooperation? ………..…..…. 238
b. The ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism: a sectorial instrument without any precise added value for cooperation ….. 240
Section 2 – The introduction of multilateral platforms for cooperation and regional actors: nourishing the virtuous circle ‘mutual trust/data sharing’ …... 243
I.
International actors and their strategic and operational actions: what foundations for mutual trust? ………..……….……… 243A. Informal and/or strategic cooperation fostered by the UN bodies’ activities ...… 244
B. Formal and informal and/or operational cooperation through Interpol’s action ………..….… 246
II.
The emergence of regional platforms and actors: step, support and/or result of the building up of mutual trust? ……..……….…... 248A. The integration of key European regional actors and channels of communication into the virtuous circle mutual trust/cooperation …...………. 248
1. From platforms of discussions conducive of cooperation… ...…..………... 249
2. … to regional actors entrusted and trust-conductor facilitating the flow of data ……….……….. 251
a. Agencies and bodies competent in law enforcement cooperation: the clear demonstration of the virtuous circle’s outcome ………...……….. 252
c. Interagency collaboration against terrorism:
a crucial demonstration of deepening of mutual trust within the EU …...…. 257 B. A socialisation of competent national authorities within ASEAN
through regional platforms for cooperation and regional actors ……...……..…... 258 1. The development of regional and trans-regional platforms for strategic
rather than operational cooperation ……….….………..…... 259 a. ASEAN: an umbrella for collaboration between its Member States ……..…. 259 b. Building competent national authorities’ capacities
via trans-ASEAN platforms ... 261 2. The emergence of an ASEAN regional ‘actor’:
what added value from Aseanapol? …………..………...….. 262 a. The birth of an ASEAN body with a broad and unclear competence
but short arms ……….……….... 262 b. Aseanapol: a Southeast Asian Europol? ………..………... 263
Section 3 – Mutual trust and data sharing nourishing and building each other:
an endless virtuous circle ……….… 267
CHAPTER 6
FINDING A PATH THROUGH MULTIHEADED INTERREGIONAL RELATIONS IN COUNTERTERRORISM: WHAT PLACE
FOR MUTUAL TRUST IN THE EU-ASEAN DIALOGUE? …………..……… 270 Section 1 – Designing the ‘public face’ of the regional organisations
on the basis of their ‘internal’ features ………..………. 273
I. The EU and ASEAN ‘public faces’ determined and/or determining
by their respective external action in counterterrorism ………..………... 273 A. Interregional relations determined by the ‘actorness’ of the main actors …...…. 273 B. The internal rules determining the ‘public face’ of the EU and ASEAN
on counterterrorism ……….…... 275 1. The external dimension of the EU’s counterterrorism policy:
a legalised approach ………...……….…….. 275 a. The EU complex internal features reflected on its external arrangements ... 275 b. The externalisation of the EU’s understanding of mutual trust:
between theory and practice ……...……….…. 279 2. The ASEAN’s counterterrorism policy:
a localisation rather than an externalisation …….……..……….….. 282 a. A complex internal structure reflected in the ASEAN actorness:
all members’ hands on deck ………..………... 282 b. ASEAN external interface: an importer rather than an exporter ...………..… 285 II. The EU and ASEAN actorness on the international scene:
determining factors governing interregional relations ………... 288 A. The progressive recognition of regional organisations
a first step towards the operationalization of their respective actorness …...….. 294
1. Interregionalism: a form of operationalization of the EU and ASEAN international actorness? ………..….. 294
2. Defining the contours of the EU-ASEAN interregional relations ………..…... 295
Section 2 – A multiheaded and multimorph interregional dialogue: a complementary relation between the EU and ASEAN ………..…. 297
I. Interregionalism: creating a new constructive path through international relations ………..……… 298
A. A confrontation between the EU’s external policies and the reluctances of ASEAN vis-à-vis external influences: a difficult process of localisation …... 298
B. The effect of the EU’s action on the development of the ASEAN actorness in counterterrorism ………..……….. 301
1. The EU’s flexible approach towards ASEAN: its recognition as an actor and a regional legal model at the end of the road ………...……... 301
2. The EU’s agenda in supporting ASEAN’s regional integration and response against non-traditional security issues ……….………... 303
II. Hope for an inter-organisational interregional relation? ………...….. 306
A. Establishing and enhancing EU-ASEAN relations through a slow and partial development of mutual trust at the governmental level …...……..….. 307
B. The development of EU-ASEAN interregional cooperation in counterterrorism: two-levels tracks for a two-fold approach ...………..… 310
1. Diplomatic and strategic interregional relations: establishing ground for mutual trust ………...………..…. 310
2. Unforeseeable operational cooperation under the current level of mutual trust between the EU and ASEAN …………..………..… 313
Section 3: Asymmetric interregional relations based on the EU and ASEAN respective actorness ……….... 317
CONCLUDING CHAPTER ………... 319
Section 1: Mutual trust: the three-dimensional principle that holds all relationships (Summary of the dissertation) ………. 319
I. Defining the terminological and conceptual framework: a premise for in-depth discussions on transnational cooperation ………..… 319
A. Un-existing, unclear and/or debated terminology ………..… 319
B. Mutual trust: a three-dimensional yardstick ……….………..… 320
II. Comparative regionalism: putting the analytical matrix to the test ………...… 320
A. First step: the respective regional architectures ………..………... 320
B. Second step: the two-fold action against terrorism ……….... 322
1. The criminalisation of terrorist offences ….……….. 322
III. Interregionalism: the challenge of building mutual trust
on top of two different regional organisations ……….…………...…..………… 325
Section 2 - Opening an avenue for further legal research in comparative regionalism and interregionalism ………..…... 326
I. Final assessment ………..……… 326
II. The way forward? ………...……….……. 329
Appendix ………... 332
