This book is a compendium of principal papers and commentary papers which were presented at the 15th Biennial Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific which was held in Singapore. The focus of this Conference was on the search for ways to achieve the establishment of the core values of an effective judiciary, such as integrity, independence, transparency and securing access to justice, as well as the role of the Judiciary in supporting the growth of transnational commerce. These five core values became the tenets of this Conference upon which each session was based. Core Values of an Effective Judiciary pays tribute to the contributions of the speakers and is a record of the discussions and the diverse viewpoints and experiences that were shared on various judicial issues during the Conference.

The papers are published according to the conference sessions and core values. In addition, to lead each session, an introductory paper was prepared that synthesised the thoughts, expressions and ideas presented in that session. The papers and their titles have been edited for publication.

Highlights:-

• Contributions by eminent members of the Judiciary from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the US
• Diverse viewpoints and insights from different countries collated into one, conveniently accessible publication

CONTENTS

SESSION I

INTEGRITY

1. THE INTEGRITY OF JUDGES
 (The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of the Republic of Singapore)
2. FOSTERING INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY
 (The Honourable Zhou Qiang, President and Chief Justice, Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China)
Commentary
 (The Honourable IGA Sumanatha, Judge, Supreme Court of Indonesia)
3. DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING GUIDELINES FOR UNACCEPTABLE DEFAULTS
 (The Honourable Ma Lourdes PA Sereno, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Philippines)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Mogoeng Mogoeng, Chief Justice, Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa)

SESSION II

INDEPENDENCE

4. THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY
 (The Honourable Kenneth M Hayne, Justice, High Court of Australia)
5. ESTABLISHING AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY
 (The Honourable P Sathasivam, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Justice Seishi Kanetsuki, Deputy Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Japan)
6. AN ADMINISTRATIVELY INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY
 (The Honourable Kenneth M Hayne, Justice, High Court of Australia)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Kalyan Shrestha, Senior Justice, Supreme Court of Nepal)

SESSION III

TRANSPARENCY

7. TRANSPARENCY IN JUDICIAL SYSTEMS
 (The Honourable Clifford Wallace, Senior Judge and Chief Judge Emeritus, United States Court of Appeals)
8. THE NECESSITY OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY TO JUSTIFY JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
 (The Honourable Clifford Wallace, Senior Judge and Chief Judge Emeritus, United States Court of Appeals)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Nikolay Romanenkov, Judge of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation)
9. DEMYSTIFYING THE JUDICIAL PROCESS
 (The Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice of New Zealand)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Md Muzammel Hossain, Chief Justice of Bangladesh)
Review of Commentary
 (The Honourable Mohan Peter Maithri Peiris, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka)

SESSION IV

ROLE IN PROMOTING TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

10. JUDICIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
 (The Honourable Geoffrey Ma, Chief Justice, Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong)
11. COURT’S ROLE IN TRADE AND COMMERCE
 (The Honourable Geoffrey Ma, Chief Justice, Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong)
Commentary
 (The Right Honourable Chief Justice Tun Arifin Bin Zakaria, Chief Justice of Malaysia)
12. THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING CONVERGENT COMMERCIAL LAW SYSTEMS
 (The Honourable T F Bathurst, Chief Justice of New South Wales)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Geoffrey Ma, Chief Justice, Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong)
13. TRANSNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW: REALITIES, CHALLENGES AND A CALL FOR MEANINGFUL CONVERGENCE
 (The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of the Republic of Singapore)

SESSION V
ACCESS TO JUSTICE

14. FACETS OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE
 (The Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice of New Zealand)
15. CRAFTING AN ACCESSIBLE CIVIL JUSTICE PROCESS
 (The Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice of New Zealand)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Veerapol Tungsuwan, Vice-President, Supreme Court of Thailand)
16. SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT OF PRO BONO
 (The Right Honourable Tun Arifin Bin Zakaria, Chief Justice of Malaysia)
Commentary
 (The Honourable Mohan Peter Maithri Peiris, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka)

SESSION VI
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

17. CLOSING REMARKS
 (The Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Chief Justice)
18. CLOSING ADDRESS
 (The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of the Republic of Singapore)

Author(s)/Editor(s)/Contributor(s):

Local and foreign Chief Justices and Senior Judges

Delivery

Specification