Judges agree to create conducive environment for China-Asean FTA

Written by Writer on Friday, October 17th, 2008

Judges agree to create conducive environment for China-Asean FTA

Thursday, October 16, 2008

BRUNEI’S acting chief justice and delegates of the China-Asean High Level Judges Conference have reached a consensus to encourage and create a conducive environment for the development of China-Asean Free Trade Area.

Acting Chief Justice/High Court Judge, Justice Datin Paduka Hayati of the Brunei Supreme Court, attended the conference on the invitation of the president of the People’s High Court of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The conference agreed on the need for a transparent, independent, efficient and competent judicial system with respect for the Rule of Law.

The forum was held in China’s city of Nanning in the Guangxi province from October 8-12 and attended by high-level judges from Asean and China, according to a press statement from the Brunei Supreme Court yesterday.

The senior court officials also agreed on a judicial protection in the form of sufficient laws and effective implementation, including the Copyright Laws and Trade Marks Act.

The courts were also encouraged to use alternative dispute resolutions such as mediation and arbitration, which serves as a useful purpose for commercial litigation, where time is an important factor.

Moreover, increasing awareness and understanding each country’s judicial and legal system and sharing and learning from each other’s experience through judicial training and exchanges were also encouraged among the China-Asean Free Trade Area countries. The conference concluded that a mechanism should be explored to allow such useful practices within the China-Asean Free Trade Area.

The delegates presented papers on the forum’s theme of “Judicial Protection of China-Asean Free Trade Area”, including laws and practices on commercial trials in China-Asean, alternative dispute resolutions and training and exchanges among China and Asean member countries. (SHS1)

The Brunei Times