Jakarta, 20 January 2014 — As ASEAN moves forward to become a community integrated in the economic, political-security, and socio-cultural spheres by 2015, the judiciaries of the ten member states will face new challenges that a single regional community will bring. Strengthening the capacities of ASEAN judiciaries will be a requirement for stable transitions throughout the region.
Recognizing the need for cross-border collaboration on judicial training within ASEAN, the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation (KAS) will organize a regional meeting of representatives from ASEAN judicial training institutions in Phnom Penh, tentatively scheduled for March 2014. In preparation of this meeting, the HRRC, in collaboration with the Asian International Justice Initiative (AIJI) and the WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice (Handa Center), will conduct a brief study that will provide an overview of judicial training in the ten ASEAN member states.
This project builds on the initial findings of the 2011 Rule of Law for Human Rights in the ASEAN Region: A Baseline Study. In order for ASEAN governments to fully implement their obligations under the ASEAN Charter to the rule of law and good governance, the 2011 baseline study recommended that member states “develop and implement judicial training programs for judges from across the region so as to strengthen judiciary systems.”
The newly commenced study, Judicial Training in ASEAN: A Comparative Overview of Systems and Programs in Place, will not only assist with providing useful baseline information for the planned conference, but will also assist ASEAN judicial training institutions and other interested stakeholders in promoting cross-border collaboration on judicial training across ASEAN.
