On 14 January, the Nagoya University Centre for Asian Legal Exchange (CALE) and the Graduate School of Law are hosting a webinar on judicial independence in ASEAN.
In order to safeguard independent judiciary in any jurisdiction, policymakers have to create adequate frameworks for appointing and promoting judges, as well as securing their independent status. ASEAN member states, in their endeavors to create a new era judiciary which is independent and effective, face numerous challenges. For example, in Cambodia, the Minister of Justice has an authority to influence every stage of the decision-making process concerning judges’ careers. In Myanmar, the direct involvement of ex-military personnel in the judiciary questions both the impartiality and independence of judges. In Vietnam, the principles of democratic centralism which prioritize the supremacy of legislature eventually affect the whole judicial sector, including independence of judges. Thus, the judiciaries in many ASEAN member-states face similar issues, although different historical, cultural, and political backgrounds underlie the problem.The program for the workshop is as follows:
Introduction to the Workshop, Khin Khin Oo, (Professor, Department of Law, University of Yangon)Moderator: Aziz Ismatov (Assistant Professor, CALE, Nagoya University, Japan)
1) Andrew Harding (Professor of Law, National University of Singapore)“Judicial Reform and the Law and Development Movement”
2) Melissa Crouch (Professor, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales)“Judicial Independence in Indonesia”
3) Cho Mar Htay (Deputy Director, Constitutional Tribunal of the Union of Myanmar)“Challenges of the Independence of the Constitutional Tribunal in Myanmar”
4) Ratana Taing (Secretary-General of the Constitutional Council of Cambodia)“The Constitutional Council of Cambodia: An Independent Institution in Ruling on ElectoralLitigations”
5) Ngoc Son Bui (Assistant Professor of Chinese University of Hong Kong)“Judicial Independence in Vietnam”
Q & A, followed by closing remarks by Jonathan Liljeblad (Senior Lecturer, College of Law, Australia National University)
Date/ Time: January 14 (Thursday) 2021, 13:00 – 15:00 (Japan) 10:30 – 12:30 (Myanmar)
Melissa Crouch 