Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong delivered a paper titled ‘Adil Laila Bahagia: A Bruneian Perspective on Judicial Independence, Integrity, Public Trust and Confidence’ during the 20th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific (CJAP) in Seoul, Korea.
The paper was delivered during a session on judicial integrity and public trust.
The Chief Justice attended the conference from September 16 to 19. CJAP is a biennial forum where Chief Justices from Asia and the Pacific meet to exchange views on judicial systems and developments in their respective jurisdictions.
Since its inaugural meeting in Penang, Malaysia, in August 1985, the conference has served as a forum for judicial cooperation and professional exchange among senior judges in the region.
The 20th conference was organised by the Judicial Section of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA) and hosted by the Supreme Court of Korea.
Chief Justices and representative judges examined challenges facing judiciaries through various discussion sessions, covering the role of the judiciary, the use of artificial intelligence in law, the importance of judicial education, law and gender-based violence, judicial integrity and public trust, and the privatisation of justice.
The conference was attended by Chief Justices and representative judges from 40 jurisdictions, including Australia, Azerbaijan, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, China, Czechia, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Türkiye, the United States of America, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Representatives from international organisations also attended, including the Asian Development Bank, European Court of Human Rights, European Law Institute, The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law, Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts, OECD, UNCITRAL, UNDP, UNIDROIT, World Bank, UNODC, WIPO and the World Justice Project.
On the sidelines of the conference, Chief Justice Chong held bilateral meetings with Chief Justice Jo Hee-de of the Republic of Korea and Chief Justice Andrew Bell of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, who is also Chair of the Judicial Division of LAWASIA.
The Chief Justice also visited the Supreme Court of Korea and the Judicial Research and Training Institute (JRTI).
Also attending from the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam were Acting Chief Registrar Hajah Hazarena POKSJ DP Haji Hurairah and Senior Registrar Hajah Noor Amalina DP Haji Alaihuddin.