Media Release – Cultural Night of the Judicial Knowledge Exchange

The Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam hosted a Cultural 4 February 2026, as part of the ASEAN Multilateral Judicial Knowledge Exchange Night on Wednesday (JKE) on Victim-Sensitive Adjudication of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Cases. The event was held at J Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, and brought together members of ASEAN judiciaries, judicial education institutions, and regional and international partners.

The Cultural Night was officiated by The Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam, Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong, who welcomed participants and underscored the importance of regional judicial cooperation and victim-sensitive adjudication in addressing trafficking in persons cases.

Among those in attendance were His Excellency Mr. Michael Hoy, the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam and Awang Zulhusam bin Haji Abdul Samad, Acting Permanent Secretary (Security and Law), Prime Minister’s Office, and Chairman of the Brunei Darussalam National Committee on Trafficking in Persons. Also present were members of the Brunei Darussalam National Committee on Trafficking in Persons, Justices and Judges from ASEAN Member States, representatives of judicial training institutions, members of the Working Group on Judicial Education and Training of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ), as well as partners from the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

In his remarks, the Chief Justice noted that the Cultural Night provided a welcome respite from the extensive discussions over the preceding days, during which judges from ASEAN Member States engaged in substantive and meaningful exchanges on strengthening judicial responses to trafficking in persons through a victim-sensitive and rights-based approach.

The Chief Justice emphasized that trafficking in persons is a serious, borderless crime that violates human dignity and undermines the rule of law, calling for a firm, coordinated and victim-sensitive judicial response across the ASEAN region.

Reference was also made to Brunei Darussalam’s whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in combating trafficking in persons, particularly through the Brunei Darussalam National Committee on Trafficking in Persons chaired by the Prime Minister’s Office, which plays a central role in coordinating national efforts involving enforcement agencies, policy makers, prosecutors, and the judiciary. The Chief Justice highlighted that “the Judiciary plays an important role within this ecosystem by ensuring that trafficking cases are adjudicated fairly, consistently and with due sensitivity to the experiences of victims.”

The Chief Justice expressed Brunei Darussalam’s honour in hosting the Judicial Knowledge Exchange and conveyed appreciation to the CACJ Working Group on Judicial Education and Training, the Australian Government through the ASEAN Australia Counter Trafficking Programme, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the organising committee, as well as all speakers and participants for their contributions to the success of the programme. The Cultural Night included cultural performances by Senandung Budaya from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

SUPREME COURT OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM / 5 FEBRUARY 2026