THE Attorney General John Muria Jr has highlighted the importance of the Attorney General’s Chamber (AGC) Conference of Parties (COP) to build a responsive legal system that adapts to globalization, technical advancement and societal shifts.
He was speaking at the opening of the three-day Solomon Islands AGC 2024 Inaugural COP at the Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel in Honiara.
The objectives of the COP are to provide a forum for the Public Sector, including all Government Ministries, State Owned Enterprises, Provincial Government representatives, to inform, share and cultivate knowledge, cooperate on concerns and coordinate actions to improve the quality of legal services available to the government.
Mr Muria Jnr said this COP is the first ever occasion that the AGC is able to inform the whole government machinery on what they do and how and why they do them.
He said being the first conference of its kind, it marks a historical moment in the legal system.
Mr Muria Jr said the COP was conceived in 2018 but the onset of COVID-19, Pacific Games 2023, 2024 Joint Election and many other government programs placed it on the ‘back-burner.’
However, he added, “that did not prohibit discussions on possible ways to realize this vision. Discussions continued and with the assistance of the Australia-SI Partnership on Justice, through the [Australian] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), progress was made.”
He said the AGC is a service provider that provides critical legal services to the government as mandated by the National Constitution.
The AG said the theme of the COP which is ‘The Role of the Attorney-General in the Delivery of Legal Services in a Contemporary State’ reflects a desire to build a responsive legal system, highlighting the necessity for legal services to adapt to globalization, technological advancement and societal shifts.
“This event is not only about addressing current challenges, but about laying the groundwork for the future. It is about setting the foundation for an efficient and structured approach to addressing legal issues and challenges, both present and future.”
Mr Muria Jr added that the Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) has two important themes in its name and they are ‘National Unity’ and ‘Transformation.’
“We believe this conference is the AGC’s input into a transformational pathway for Solomon Islands.
“There is no doubt that the AGC will play an important part in the implementation of the government’s plan for policy for national unity and transformation as we all know that the government cannot do anything unless there is a law governing its acts.
“For national unity to begin, all of government must first be united. For transformation to take place, we must first all understand our respective roles.
“The law responds to context. The next three days, we will all understand that context and what it means,” he said.
There will be interactions on the whole government machinery during the three-day conference in a bid to enable AGC’s service better understand its roles, the participants’ roles and how they co-relate.
By AGNES MENANOPO
Solomon Star, Honiara
