Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and other judiciary heads of member countries of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to further intensify relations and coordination.

The Supreme Court Public Information Office (SCPIO) said on Friday (Nov. 6) this was reached in the signing of the Hanoi Declaration during Thursday’s (Nov. 5) 8th Meeting of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ) which was held for the first time online.

Among the agreements reached, the SCPIO said the Working Group on Facilitating Service of Civil Processes within ASEAN will study “the current legal framework within each ASEAN jurisdiction governing the taking of evidence for foreign proceedings.”

From the study, the SCPIO said the working group will “develop a Model Rule and thereafter submit a report of their findings and recommendations of the said Model Rule at the next CACJ Meeting for consideration by each ASEAN Judiciary.”

The CACJ also agreed to have the Working Group on Cross-Border Disputes Involving Children explore “the possibility of developing a common set of values, aspirations and principles for ASEAN Judiciaries in cases of cross-border child disputes within ASEAN.”

In relation to this, the CACJ will also “explore holding the 3rd ASEAN Family Judges Forum in conjunction with the 2022 HCCH Judicial Roundtable on the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the 1996 Hague Convention on Parental Responsibility and Protection of Children.”

The CACJ also agreed for the holding of “the Masterclass for ASEAN judges and judicial officers on The Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, and The Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters.”

This will be arranged by Malaysia and the CACJ Secretariat in collaboration with the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

The SCPIO said the Hanoi Declaration also pushed for “the Working Group on Judicial Education and Training to identify new ways of conducting training and education programmes.”