Closing Ceremony for Participants from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Vice-Chancellor's Welcome

Professor Barney Glover

18 August 2017

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Good morning, and a warm welcome to the Closing Ceremony and the Award of Certificates for the first three Capacity Building of Law and Justice Division for Strengthening Subordinate Judiciary Management training courses held at the Western Sydney University International Centre for Ocean Governance.
We are especially honoured to welcome the following key dignitaries:

His Excellency Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, High Commissioner of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji;
Mr. Md. Golam Sarwar, Joint Secretary, Law and Justice Division, in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the People's Republic of Bangladesh; and District and Sessions Judge; and
Distinguished program participants from the Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Today's Closing Ceremony acknowledges the completion of the first twelve, four, and two-week simultaneously-delivered judicial capacity-building training programs at the International Centre for Ocean Governance. I congratulate all program participants for successfully completing the training and so ably representing the Law and Justice Division during your time here at Western Sydney University.
The historic Memorandum of Understanding that the University entered into with the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in March this year has seen the seed of an idea to bring capacity-building training and skills development to judicial officials from Bangladesh grow to a program of which we can all be proud.
Over the last twelve weeks, Western Sydney University has delivered a world class program that has helped to develop sophisticated human resource  capacity within the Law and Justice Division and enhanced participants' operational capacity, skills, and managerial ability. We have delivered a program that has further built participants' knowledge in highly specialized areas of law and justice as well as developed their technical knowledge in judicial administration.
Graduating program participants, I understand that you have been involved in an intensive immersion experience, covering cross-cutting topics and emerging issues of global importance. These issues have far-reaching impacts on areas such as the environment, national security, climate justice, counter-terrorism, cyber security, ocean governance, and maritime security.
Western Sydney University and external specialists have engaged with you during your training to foster and develop your expertise in areas as diverse as procedural matters, case management, dispensing of justice, and sentencing innovations such as restorative justice and circle sentencing.
By using a variety of experiential learning techniques, our experts specifically designed this comprehensive training to give you a wide range of opportunities  to exchange knowledge with Australian judicial officers and experts.
Several Western Sydney University teams worked closely together to deliver these tailored programs to help you to gain a better understanding of the way  in which the Australian legal system operates. I understand that you have had opportunities to engage with the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, the District Court of New South Wales, the New South Wales Judicial Commission, the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, the Parramatta Children's Court, and the New South Wales Bar Association.
We have also been very fortunate to enjoy important contributions throughout  the program from the Honourable Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.
Graduating participants, you have been a vital part of a program that will eventually train over 500 of your peers and colleagues to improve justice outcomes for people in Bangladesh. As you return home, I encourage you to inspire and motivate other Ministry staff who will join the training program over the coming years.
On behalf of Western Sydney University and the International Centre for Ocean Governance, thank you Your Excellency [address High Commissioner Hossain] and Joint Secretary Sarwar (Sahr-Wahr) [address Joint Secretary Sarwar] for joining me today to congratulate this inaugural graduating cohort.
Western Sydney University is deeply committed to strengthening our ongoing partnership with the Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Graduates, I wish you all well and look forward to hearing about your continued success.

Thank you.

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