Media Release - Opening of the Legal Year 2025

The Opening of the Legal Year took place at the Supreme Court on Thursday 23 January 2025 corresponding to 23 Rejab 1445. The annual event gathered members of the Judiciary and the legal profession to mark the start of the court’s legal year.

The ceremony began with the traditional Guard of Honour parade by the Royal Brunei Police Force which was inspected by the Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong. This was followed by the Chief Justice’s address in which he reflected on the Opening of the Legal Year ceremony as one that signifies “a moment for reflection, renewal and affirmation of our commitment to justice and the rule of law.”

The Chief Justice then outlined the Judiciary’s key initiatives for 2025, which included an upgrade of the Judicial Case Management System (JCMS), civil procedure reforms, strengthening the family justice system, mentorship and training for the legal profession, guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and reforms for Brunei Darussalam’s insolvency and restructuring framework.
In highlighting the need for reforms to civil procedure, the Chief Justice said “in order to support Brunei Darussalam’s Wawasan 2035 to become a dynamic and sustainable economy, our civil litigation process needs to align and reflect socio-economic realities, harness technological advances and adapt to meet the needs of court users of today.” He then went on to announce the establishment of a working committee to review the civil procedure rules and propose reforms to the civil litigation system as “the civil litigation system empowers individuals and businesses to assert and enforce their rights and offers mechanisms for the resolution of disputes.”
The Chief Justice also proposed strengthening the “family justice system to ensure that our judicial processes promote mediation, reconciliation and long-term societal well-being in helping families heal.” He announced the Judiciary’s vision for restorative family justice and how it supports the country’s Wawasan 2035 Social Blueprint aspiration to empower strong, caring and resilient families. He shared the Judiciary’s interest to collaborate and work actively with relevant agencies when handling family related judicial work through providing more access to mediation, counselling and encouraging early intervention to families.
In terms of reforms to Brunei Darussalam’s insolvency and restructuring framework, the Chief Justice explained that the Judiciary is currently seeking feedback and input from relevant stakeholders as to whether the current bankruptcy and insolvency regime is sufficient to meet the needs of the business community and whether the current regime is user-friendly and accessible for individuals and companies. He went on to underscore “the importance of an effective insolvency and restructuring ecosystem in bringing benefits for our economy in promoting entrepreneurship, access to finance and economic growth.”
The Chief Justice then reflected on the work carried out by the Judiciary in the past year and reported on the court’s statistics. For the 12-month period ending December 2024, the clearance rate of criminal cases in the Magistrates’ Courts stands at 90% whereas the clearance rate for civil cases stands at 100%, marking a substantial improvement from the previous year’s clearance rates of 80% and 83%, respectively. He also added that in terms of time taken for the delivery of judgments, 88% of judgments for Magistrates’ Court criminal cases were delivered within three months from the close of submissions, whereas 75% of judgments were delivered within three months from the close of submissions in High Court civil cases.

It was highlighted that the total number of criminal cases filed in the Magistrates’ Court showed an overall decrease from 498 cases filed in 2023 to 481 filed in 2024. There was also a similar decrease in the number of criminal cases filed in the Intermediate Court with 58 cases filed in 2023 and 49 cases filed in 2024  and also for High Court criminal cases with 14 cases filed in 2023 and 12 filed in 2024.

Statistics also showed that the number of applications for registration of marriages dropped significantly from 115 in 2023 to 66 in 2024, while there has been a rise in number of divorce petitions filed. The Probate Registry also saw an increase in the number of applications for letters of administration, with a total of 768 applications received in 2024. Similarly, the Official Receiver’s Chambers saw an increase in the number of bankruptcy notices filed from 344 in 2023 to 350 in 2024. There was also a rise in the number of winding up orders made, with 9 companies going into liquidation in 2023 and 15 in 2024.

The Chief Justice informed of the Judiciary’s continuing international engagement with foreign courts. In particular, the formalisation of judicial cooperation with a Memorandum of Judicial Cooperation (MOJC) with the Federal Court of Malaysia in March 2024 and with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Judicial Branch of the Republic of Peru in November 2024.
He also spoke about the establishment of the Joint Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) in May 2024 and how members from the Judiciary, Attorney General’s Chambers and Law Society work together to address inter-related legal issues that are faced by the legal fraternity. He highlighted the made significant progress on amendments to the Legal Profession Act and Rules to enhance professional standards and governance within the legal fraternity. 
Speeches were then delivered by the Attorney General, Yang Berhormat Datin Seri Paduka Dayang Hajah Nor Hashimah binti Haji Mohammed Taib and the President of the Law Society, Yang Mulia Haji Mohammad Zainidi Bin Haji Abdul Hamid, in representing advocates and solicitors in Brunei Darussalam.

The Opening of the Legal Year ceremony was attended by Yang Amat Arif/Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Awang Haji Salim bin Awang Besar, Chief Syarie Judge and Yang Mulia Dato Seri Paduka Haji Sufian bin Haji Sabtu, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (Security and Law).

The ceremony was also attended by Ambassadors and High Commissioners and members of the Diplomatic Corps, Senior Government Officials, members of the Judiciary from the Civil and Syariah Courts, Attorney General’s Chambers, Law Society, members of various government enforcement agencies and students from Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University, Laksamana College of Business and Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College.
 
Photocredits: Infofoto
SUPREME COURT OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM / 23 JANUARY 2025