3rd Annual Event in Brunei Darussalam
Third Annual Event of The Attorney General's Chambers 23-27 April 2008
The 3 rd Annual Event of the Attorney General’s Chambers of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore was held at the Empire Hotel Country Club, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam from 23 to 27 April 2008. About 170 participants attended the Event comprising 50 from Malaysia, 37 from Singapore and 83 from the host country, Brunei Darussalam.
The Event commenced with a reception and live performances at the Pantai Restaurant in the evening of 23 April 2008.
Four topics on areas of common interest were chosen for the Event. On the first day of the Event (24 April 2008), selected speakers from each country presented the papers according to assigned topics. The first session began with the topic on “ASEAN
Charter”. The session was chaired by the Honourable Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Kifrawi bin Dato Paduka Haji Kifli (Attorney General, Brunei Darussalam). The papers were presented by Prof. Walter Woon Cheong Ming (Attorney General, Singapore), Datin Almalena Sharmila Johan (Deputy Head 1, International Affairs Division, AGC Malaysia), and Hajah Norhashimah Haji Mohd Taib (Head of International Affairs Division, AGC Brunei Darussalam).
The second session for the day was on the topic of “Is Legislation Always the
Answer?”. It was chaired by Datin Paduka Magdalene Chong, Solicitor General, Brunei Darussalam. The speakers were Mr. John Brian Wilkinson (Head of Legislative Division, AGC Brunei Darussalam), Dato’ Engku Nor Faizah binti Engku Atek (Deputy Parliamentary Draftsman, AGC Malaysia) and Mr. David Chong Gek Sian (Principal Senior State Counsel, Civil Division, AGC Singapore).
At a free paper session 1, Mr Jeffery Chan Wah Teck, Principal Senior State Counsel, International Affairs Division, AGC Singapore presented a paper entitled “Emerging
Challenges in International Humanitarian Law” and the session was also chaired by Datin Paduka Magdalene Chong.
The third and last session for the day was on “Current Trends in Sentencing” which was chaired by Prof. Walter Woon Cheong Ming. The speakers were Hj. Mohd Yusree Hj Junaidi (Principal Counsel and Head of Criminal Justice Division, AGC Brunei Darussalam), Mr. Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria (Deputy Head, Prosecution Division, AGC Malaysia) and Mr. Mohamed Faizal s/o Md Abdul Kadir (DPP, Criminal Justice Division, AGC Singapore).
The fourth session took place on the second day (25 April 2008) focusing on
At another slot of free session, two speakers, Dk Siti Nurbani Pg Dato Paduka Tengah (Senior Counsel, IAD, AGC Brunei Darussalam) and Mr Pretam Singh a/l Darshan Singh (Head of Execution & Enforcement Unit, Civil Division, AGC Malaysia) presented on “Environmental Law” and “Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Orders in the Domestic Civil Courts” respectively. The session was chaired by the Honourable Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney General of Malaysia.
The second day of the Event ended with an official dinner at the Polo Restaurant, Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club. While dining, participants were entertained by a live band and mesmerized by karaoke performances by officers of the three AGCs.
The official ceremony took place on the third day (26 April 2008). The opening remarks were made by the Honourable Attorney General of Brunei Darussalam. This was followed by the opening speech by His Royal Highness Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In his opening speech His Royal Highness called for specialization in key areas of law and continuous training to address challenges in human resource development and provide quality advice for the government. As lawyers face the same challenges in human resource development as other professionals, it is crucial for them to keep abreast with developments in this field. His Royal Highness remarked that a common legal foundation among the three countries presents unique opportunities to address concerns in assisting governments to develop legal systems that meet people’s needs. His Royal Highness also reiterated that the strengths in cooperation and mutual understanding in legal issues will become more relevant in working together to solve legal issues in regional and international arena particularly with an increasing number of cross border issues due to forces of globalization.
The Event concluded with the Farewell Dinner. Participants were again entertained by a live band and performances by officers of the three AGCs.
Networking games were held on 24 April 2008. Other games whereby participants took part in were golf, badminton and bowling.
A visit to the courts was also arranged.
