The ASEAN Multilateral Judicial Knowledge Exchange (JKE) on Victim-Sensitive Adjudication of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Cases officially opened today at the Mutiara Ballroom, Radisson Hotel, in the capital.
Held from February 3 to 5, the JKE convenes Judges from ASEAN member states with experience in TIP cases, alongside representatives from judicial training institutes and the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ) Secretariat.
The programme is a project of the CACJ Working Group on Judicial Education and Training, co-chaired by the judiciaries of Indonesia and the Philippines, supported by the Australian Government-funded ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) Programme and the UNODC.
This is the second multi-sectoral JKE, following the inaugural session in Vientiane, Lao PDR, in September–October 2025, and includes participation from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The opening ceremony featured remarks from Brunei Darussalam Supreme Court Judicial Commissioner Haji Abdullah Soefri POKSM DSP Haji Abidin; Justice Agus Subroto of Indonesia; Justice Rosmari Carandang (Ret) of the Philippines; Dr Rebecca Milner from UNODC; and Jennifer Zhao of the Australian High Commission in Brunei.
Speakers stressed that trafficking in persons is a serious, borderless crime undermining human dignity and the rule of law, and highlighted the need for regional cooperation, victim-centred adjudication, and procedural fairness to minimise trauma to victims.
The JKE provides a platform for sharing practical experiences, national perspectives, and judicial best practices, with focused discussions on court proceedings, victim protection, children’s best interests, compensation, evidence-based TIP judgments, and capacity-building for judges.
The initiative underscores ASEAN judiciaries’ commitment to enhancing judicial capacity, promoting consistent adjudication, and handling TIP cases with due sensitivity to victims’ rights, dignity, and protection under the rule of law.