Judicial and legal professionals engage in virtual capacity building initiative

EVOLVING JUDICIAL and Legal Practices for the Digital Age, was the subject of a two-day online event hosted by the Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions – APEX, and the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), on October 20-21, 2021.

According to a release from the OECS Commission, the Executive Director of the Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions and ARIN’s director of Caribbean Affairs, Bevil Wooding, explained that the Justice and Technology series is a unique collaboration between regional and international internet and justice sector organisations.

“This series provides a much-needed interdisciplinary forum for stakeholders to discuss and better understand how technological innovations and trends are impacting the justice sector and the wider society,” a release quotes Wooding, the lead architect of the initiative, as stating.

He noted that the collaborative partners include the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Bar Associations (CAJO); the Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA); the Internet Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC); the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), and the Bahamas-based Eugene Dupuch Law School.

Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Judge and Chairman of CAJO, Justice Peter Jamadar, in support of the event, said “CAJO welcomes the initiative and believes it is a timely, relevant and commendable programme for judiciaries and legal practitioners across the region.”

The virtual event brought together leading jurists, technologists, lawyers, and scholars to share insights, experiences, and research as they discussed how regional and global technology trends are impacting the courts, justice delivery, the legal profession, and legal practitioners.

President of the (CCJ), Justice Adrian Saunders, delivered the keynote address on the topic: “The Internet, Law and Society – Evolving Impact of Technology on the Judiciary”.

The speakers for the regional event are reported to have included Sir Dennis Byron, Chairman of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute; Justice Michelle Arana, Chief Justice (Ag) of Belize; Justice Margaret McKeown, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit; and Michael Abejuela, General Counsel at ARIN.