Syazwani Hj Rosli

Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong Wan Oon yesterday reiterated about the commitment to continue developing and improving the courts.

He also stressed on how “active steps must be taken to support the fair administration of justice, particularly in providing a better infrastructure for case management”.

He made these comments in his opening remarks at the forum on the ‘Modernisation of Case Management’ organised by the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam in collaboration with the British High Commission in Brunei Darussalam yesterday.

Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong also spoke about the need to “maintain a focus on ensuring that justice is open, fair and timely” and how it can be achieved by “using processes and procedures that encourage robust, consistent case management across the courts”.

Lead Judge for International Relations from the Judiciary of England and Wales, Sir Peter Gross, was the keynote speaker and panellist at the forum.

Sir Peter Gross was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2010 and was appointed Deputy Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales in October 2011, thereafter becoming Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from January 2013 until December 2015.

He has undertaken judicial visits abroad (including Jamaica, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Qatar and Iraq) since 2003. He was appointed Lead Judge for International Relations in January 2018. The Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam remains committed to ensuring that timeliness and efficiency is a top priority in the administration of the courts.

The forum is a platform at which all members of the legal community are able to have open and honest discussions about what more can be achieved together through the modernisation of case management.

Active case management is a fundamental and essential component of achieving justice. It is hoped the forum will provide opportunities to share, exchange and learn from the best practices from the Judiciary of England and Wales.

Attorney General Dato Seri Paduka Haji Hairol Arni bin Haji Abdul Majid, Chief Syar’ie Judge Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Salim bin Haji Besar, Justices and Judges of the High Courts, Intermediate Court and the Syariah Courts, and British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Richard Lindsay were present at the opening of the forum.

Permanent Secretary (Law and Welfare) at the Prime Minister’s Office Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim, Solicitor General Hajah Zuraini binti Haji Sharbawi, President of the Law Society of Brunei Darussalam On Hung Zheng, Dean of the Faculty of Syariah and Law of Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA); and the forum’s participants comprising officers from the Judiciary, Attorney General’s Chambers, Law Society members and UNISSA students also participated.