BY NED GAGAHE
A three-day Regional Judicial Symposium will commence tomorrow, Wednesday, 18 June 2025, at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Conference Room in Honiara.
According to a statement from the FFA, the Judicial Symposium 2025 is a co-hosted event between the FFA and the Chief Justice of the Solomon Islands, Sir Albert R. Palmer, CBE. The symposium will run from 18 to 20 June 2025 under the theme, “Recent Developments in International Fisheries Law.”
The key guest at the event is Judge Kathy-Ann Brown, a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
- Regional Chief Justices expected to attend include:
- Chief Justice Sir Albert R. Palmer, Chief Justice of Solomon Islands
- Chief Justice Tetiro Mate, Chief Justice of Kiribati
- Chief Justice Daniel N. Cadra, Chief Justice of the Marshall Islands
- Chief Justice Sir Gibuma Gibbs Salika, Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea
- Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese, Chief Justice of Samoa
- Chief Justice Sir John Baptist Muria, Acting Chief Justice of Tuvalu
The symposium aims to strengthen awareness of recent developments in international fisheries law at the national, regional and international levels.
To support the participants, who include Chief Justices and other judges from the High Courts or Supreme Courts of FFA member countries, the FFA has invited prominent international lawyers and fisheries specialists.
The opening ceremony will feature opening remarks by Chief Justice Sir Albert R. Palmer, CBE and a welcome address by FFA Director-General Noan Pakop.
Background Information:
The FFA has previously organized this regional meeting for the judiciary on a biennial basis, focusing on themes related to the fisheries sector.
The last Forum Fisheries Agency and Solomon Islands Chief Justice Sir Albert R. Palmer co-hosted Judicial Symposium was held in August 2019 in Honiara.
The event brings together regional Chief Justices, Puisne Judges and international judges and legal experts who serve as resource persons delivering sessions aligned with the symposium’s themes.
In 2019, the focus was on state, organizational and individual accountability under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with particular attention to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and flag/coastal state obligations.
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