Economic and financial crime:

President opens S Asian judges forum

Sarath MALALASEKERA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the Commonwealth Secretariat South Asian Judges Regional Forum on 'Economic and Financial Crime' at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday morning.

President Rajapaksa opened the ceremony by lighting the traditional oil lamp associated with Chief Justice Asoka de Silva, Justice McClellan of Australia, Justice Zaman of Bangladesh, Justice Komathy Suppiah of Malaysia, Justice Ahmed of Maldives, Justice Fatima Qadeer of Pakistan and Justice Thye Tan of Singapore.

Representatives from the regional and international agencies participated in the forum.

Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) Secretariat David Shannon, UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) Trevor Rajah and Representative from the Commonwealth Secretariat Shirani de Fontgalland also participated in the lighting of the oil lamp.

The aim of the Commonwealth Secretariat South Asia Judges Regional Forum on Economic and Financial Crime is to enhance the capacity of Commonwealth judiciaries within the region with regard to the adjudication of economic and financial crime and in particular, transnational criminality, touching upon areas such as money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The forum, the first of its kind in the region, will provide an opportunity for judges in the South Asian region to meet with each other, as well as with judges from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United Kingdom to share best practices and challenges, particularly within the context of transnational crime.

Resource persons from the Asia Pacific Group, the UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate, the Judicial Commission of NSW and other expert judges will also participate in the forum, organisers said.