The workshop was held at the Fairmont Princess Hotel in Hamilton Bermuda on May 21st - 24th, 2012. Sue Collins, member of the board of the UIHJ, was in attendance.
Over the years, the Hague Conference has, in carrying out its mission, increasingly become a center for international judicial and administrative co-operation in the area of private law, especially in the fields of protection of the family and children, civil procedure and commercial law. The Conference website, www.hcch.net, presents general information concerning the Hague Conference as well as detailed and updated information on the Hague Conventions.
With 72 Members, representing all continents, The Hague Conference on Private International Law is a global organization that develops and services multilateral legal instruments, which respond to global needs. An increasing number of non-Member States are also becoming parties to the Hague Conventions. As a result, the work of the Conference encompasses 130 countries around the world.
The statutory mission of the Conference is to work for the "progressive unification" of these rules. This involves finding internationally-agreed approaches to issues such as jurisdiction of the courts, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in a wide range of areas, from commercial law and banking law to international civil procedure and from child protection to matters of marriage and personal status.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development. The Commonwealth is home to two billion citizens of all faiths and ethnicity and includes some of the world's largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries. Member countries come from six regions: Africa (19); Asia (8); the Americas (3); the Caribbean (10); Europe (3); and the South Pacific (11). The Commonwealth believes the best democracies are achieved through partnerships - of governments, business, and civil society. The Commonwealth website, www.thecommonwealth.org, presents general information concerning the The Commonwealth, as well as detailed and updated information on its activities.
The Commonwealth's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division (LCAD) facilitates cooperation among member countries in constitutional and international law, the development and administration of systems of justice, and in combating serious and transnational crime. In all its work LCAD seeks to collaborate with the legal professional bodies in the Commonwealth including the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association, Commonwealth Legal Education Association and other specialist professional groups.
The seminar in Bermuda was attended by approximately 130 individuals, 95 of these individuals were from agencies in Bermuda and the remaining attendees were from international destinations. The agenda consisted of two joint workshops held simultaneously for the 3 days. The two groups met together for sections of the workshop and separated into groups to be addresses by experts on the two topics. One workshop centered around the issues of the Hague Children's Conventions and the other workshop covered topics dealing with the Legal Cooperation & Litigation Conventions of the Hague Conference.
The section on “Legal Cooperation & Litigation Conventions” covered subjects such as the Apostille Convention, the service of documents, the taking of evidence abroad, wills and succession, choice of courts, securities, and trusts. The « Hague Children's Conventions » section included discussions on child protection, inter-country adoption, cross border child support, and international access to justice.
During the workshops the attendees were addressed by 12 expert speakers. Invited dignitaries and speakers participating in the program were: Premier and Minister of Finance The Hon. Paula A. Cox, JP, MP - Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Sen.the Hon. Kim N. Wilson. JP - Dr Christophe Bernasconi, Deputy Secretary General, Hague Conference - Mr Bill Fritzlen, U.S. Department of State - Justice Wade Miller, President of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association - Professor David McClean, Emeritus Professor of Law, United Kingdom - Justice Ian Rowe Chukudinka Kawakley, Chief Justice of Bermuda - Ignacio Goicoechea, Liaison Legal Officer for Latin America for the Hague Conference - Lord Justice Matthew Thorpe, Head of International Family Justice, United Kingdom - Micha Thorner, Director of Judicial Studies for the Hague Conference - Nadine Perrault, Child Rights Program Officer, UNICEF - Norris Ebbin, President of PIA, a Bermuda company specializing in digital certification - Akbar Khan, Director of the Legal Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat - Mr Jarvis Matiya, Legal & Constitutional Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat - Sarah Lahoz Martinez, CONANI - National Council for Childhood and Adolescence.
The joint workshops were a great success. The attendees received a great deal of information from world-wide experts on the topic discussed. Ideas and solutions were exchanged to take back to their respective agencies, and all involved had the pleasure of meeting individuals from other islands and areas of the world who deal with similar situations. The seminar was such a success that future workshops will be planned in the Caribbean region.
