1. The Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam, Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong, attended the 18th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific held on 16-17 November 2022.
2. The conference is a biennial event which provides the Chief Justices from Asia and the Pacific region with a forum for discussing various issues that are of common interest to judiciaries. Top judges of the region will take the opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss mutual concerns, which will be conducive to the further development of the judicial system in their jurisdictions.
3. The first Chief Justices’ Conference was held in Penang, Malaysia in 1985 and it has become a valuable forum to facilitate free and professional exchange of ideas amongst the top judges in Asia and the Pacific region. Over the past thirty-seven years, Chief Justices from over fifty Judiciaries in the region have been getting together to share views and insights on issues of common interest on administration of justice.
4. Organised by the Judicial Section of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA), the 18th Conference was hosted by the Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in a fully virtual mode. Participating Chief Justices and representatives of Chief Justices examined and explored diverse challenges facing all judiciaries in different discussion sessions with topics including facing criticism from the outside and engaging with the public, case management in a contemporary context, greater prominence for family courts and judicial education.
5. The 18th Conference was attended by 24 Chief Justices and 8 representative judges from across 32 jurisdictions, including Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, People’s Republic of China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, India, Republic of Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Nepal, New South Wales, Australia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Philippines, Russian Federation, Republic of Seychelles, Singapore, Republic of South Africa, Timor-Leste, Kingdom of Tonga, United States of America and The Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
6. Also in attendance at the conference were The Honourable Judicial Commissioner and Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Haji Abdullah Soefri bin POKSM DSP Haji Abidin, The Honourable Judicial Commissioner, Muhammed Faisal bin Pehin Datu Juragan Laila Diraja Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Kefli together with judges and judicial officers from the Judiciary.
SUPREME COURT, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
17 NOVEMBER 2022
