PILON - Pacific Islands Law Officers' Network

Webinar on legal and policy protections for whistleblowers (45 mins)
2021-04-30 08:00 - 2021-05-31 17:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Webinar available now!
Does your organisation have a whistleblower policy? Does your country have a whistleblower law? Are you thinking of updating them? Watch this webinar to find out more about what to include and some pitfalls to avoid.
The Pacific Islands Law Officers’ Network (PILON) Corruption Working Group is pleased to present the second in a series of three webinars on Whistleblower Protection. This event, partnered with the United Nations Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project (UN-PRAC), is presented by Dr Ashley Savage (technical expert and UN-PRAC consultant) and features opening remarks by Mr Ronald Talasasa (Director of Public Prosecutions, Nauru).
The webinar is pre-recorded so you can watch it at any time by logging in or signing into the Members Zone/Corruption Working Group (we recommend you use Google Chrome to access the Members Zone).
We hope you enjoy it and please let us know what you think by emailing pilon@pilonsec.org.

Cybercrime and Children in a Covid-19 World: Part 2-Addressing Child Sexual Abuse Material(CSAM)
2021-06-04 14:00 - 17:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Cybercrime and Children in a Covid-19 World: Part 2 – Addressing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)
4 June 2021, 2pm Samoan time (WST)
This webinar was the second of a two part webinar series on ‘Cybercrime and Children in a Covid-19 World’.
Covid-19 has changed the world as we know it. While we have been forced to physically distance, we have become more connected through the internet, adapting to remote work, learning and video calls. Cybercriminals have adapted to our increased online engagement, rendering children more vulnerable than ever in this new criminal landscape. As the second of our two-part webinar series on Cybercrime and Children in a Covid-19 world, the CSAM webinar will discuss the challenges of keeping our children safe when engaging with digital technology, and will consider opportunities for adapting laws and policies to prevent harmful practices.
Panellists for the webinar include:

Representatives from UNICEF who have conducted research and interviews with children and young people in the Pacific about their online experiences
Representatives from the Australian Department of Home Affairs who will speak about policy considerations when legislating to address CSAM and international best practice in line with the Budapest Convention
Representatives from the Solomon Islands Department of Public Prosecutions who will speak about approaches to prosecuting CSAM cases.

The webinar was chaired by Chair of the PILON Cybercrime Working Group, Linda Folaumoetu’i, Attorney General of the Kingdom of Tonga and live scribed by graphic artist Ms Jessamy Gee.
Watch this space for Jessamy’s poster and video recording of the webinar, to be share in the coming weeks.

Addressing Image-Based Abuse
2021-08-26 13:00 - 14:00 (Pacific/Tongatapu) | TBA (Nuku’alofa), Nuku'alofa, Tonga
We are pleased to advise that the PILON Cybercrime and Sexual and Gender Based Violence Working Groups will jointly be delivering a two part webinar on ‘Addressing Image-Based Abuse’, to be held on Thursday 26 August 2021 at 1pm Tonga time/ 10am Canberra time.

To register your interest in attending the webinar and to receive a link to join Part 1 of the webinar, please sign up via the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrd-CrqT4oEtB4gyZBlf6UwyL9bWUO6b8A

Our panellists include Karen Bentley, CEO of WESNET, Australia’s national peak body for specialist women’s domestic and family violence services and Stephanie Dunn, Legal Officer at Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre. Karen and Stephanie will be speaking about their observations of image-based abuse in the region and their respective organisation’s approaches to supporting a victim of image-based abuse in a hypothetical case study. Please feel free to share details of the webinar with your networks.

"Addressing Image-Based Abuse" webinar Part 2
2021-09-23 10:00 - 11:00 (Pacific/Apia)
‘Addressing Image-Based Abuse’ webinar: Part 2
The Cybercrime and SGBV Working Groups are pleased to announce that Part 2 of the ‘Addressing Image-Based Abuse’ webinar will be held via zoom on Thursday 23 September 2021 at 1pm Apia time. Panellists will include representatives from Tonga Police, the Australian eSafety Commissioner and New Zealand Crown Law. To submit your interest and receive a link to join the webinar, please register your details via this zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElceGppzkrH93JUZEszMjhTcqL81MLi9UO
Please keep an eye out for the recording of Part 1 of this webinar and the webinar poster, which we will share in the coming weeks.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to e-seeing you soon. Should you require assistance registering for the webinar, please contact the PILON Secretariat.

PILON 40th Annual Meeting
2021-11-05 13:00 - 16:00 (Pacific/Apia) | Videoconference

Webinar: "Countering Disinformation"
2021-11-26 13:00 - 17:00 (Pacific/Tongatapu)
We are pleased to announce a co-badged webinar between the PILON Cybercrime Working Group and the Council of Europe on ‘Countering Disinformation’. This webinar will take place on Friday, 26 November 2021 at 1pm Tonga time/11am Canberra time.
To register your interest and receive a link to attend this webinar, please sign up via the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscO-tqz4uHNOV-EOTztMlWpVbDsvT5HqI
Our panelists include speakers from the Council of Europe, the Pacific Fusion Centre, the Kiribati Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development, and the Kingdom of Tonga Attorney-General’s Office. These speakers will share observations and experiences in tackling disinformation, identifying challenges and opportunities to prosecuting disinformation and how international frameworks can inform domestic approaches to countering disinformation. The presentations will be followed by a one-hour roundtable discussion during which audience members may ask questions or share their own experiences.
Please feel free to share details of this webinar with your networks. We look forward to e-seeing you on 26 November.

PILON webinar - Following the digital paper trail
2022-04-01 13:30 - 15:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Registrations are now open:
I am pleased to invite you to the PILON Cybercrime Working Group and Corruption Working Group webinar “Following the digital paper trail”, taking place on Friday 1 April 2022 at 11:30am Canberra time/ 1:30pm Nuku’alofa time/ 12:30pm Yaren time.
Corruption and financial crime are growing concerns for many countries around the world, including those across the Pacific. The increasingly transnational and complex nature of corruption and financial crime is making them more difficult to both investigate and prosecute.
Cyber criminals will continue to adapt to new technologies in order to achieve their desired objectives. As financial crime and corruption are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the proper use and analysis of digital evidence is vital to achieving successful prosecutions for corruption related offences.
This webinar will feature presenters working in law enforcement and prosecution agencies and will be of interest to any officials involved in the gathering, analysis or use of digital evidence.
An agenda will be circulated in coming days with further information on the speakers and topics.
We invite you to register for this webinar via the following link:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
We encourage you to share the webinar details with any colleagues who may benefit from this webinar, including police officers, digital forensic specialists and prosecutors.
Please do not hesitate to contact the PILON Secretariat (pilon@pilonsec.org) should you have any questions.

Webinar 1 - Lessons Learn
2022-04-22 12:30 - 14:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Kindly please save the date for our upcoming PILON Sexual and Gender Based Violence Working Group webinar: “The Special Measures Series: Lessons Learned”, taking place on Friday 22 April 2022 at 9:30am Canberra time/ 12:30pm Apia time / 11:30am Suva time.
We will be hearing from three speakers about their practical experiences implementing special measures, drawing on PILON’s Model Provisions and Explanatory Text (Supporting Vulnerable Witnesses in cases involving sexual and gender based violence). We invite you to register for this free webinar via the following link:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The Special Measures Series: Webinar 2: "Practical Realities"
2022-05-20 15:00 - 17:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Dear PILON members and friends,
We are pleased to invite you to the second webinar in the PILON Sexual and Gender Based Violence Working Group Special Measures Series titled “Webinar 2: Practical Realities”, taking place next week on Friday 20th May 2022 at 3.00pm Apia time (Friday) / 12noon Canberra time (Friday) / 4.00pm Cook Islands time (Thursday).
In our previous webinar we heard from two senior prosecutors from Fiji and Samoa. It is now time to hear experiences from smaller jurisdictions, to better understand the broader Pacific story.
We will continue to discuss the many barriers to access to justice for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, including the adversarial legal system and in particular cross-examination. As a practical tool, the PILON Sexual and Gender Based Violence Working Group has published Model Provisions and Explanatory Text (Supporting Vulnerable Witnesses in cases involving sexual and gender based violence) to assist Pacific countries with law reform to overcome some of these barriers.
SPEAKERS
The second webinar in this series will showcase the experiences of two smaller jurisdictions, who will share the practical realities encountered when using special measures:

Cutty Wase is currently the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. His career has spanned drafting and prosecuting in both the private and public sectors. Beginning as an Assistant Legislative Counsel he became RMI’s Assistant Attorney General, later taking on a Staff Attorney Position through the Micronesian Legal Services Corporation. Chief Prosecutor Wase will share the Marshallese experience of using special measures.

Annabel Maxwell-Scott is currently the Deputy Solicitor-General of the Cook Islands. She oversees all criminal prosecution work ranging from serious sexual violence to drug and fraud prosecutions and advisory work. Annabel was trained in the UK and admitted to the Bar there in 1996. She moved to NZ in 2009 and worked with the Public Defence Service before moving into independent practice in 2013 where she predominantly defended serious crime.

HOW TO REGISTER
We invite you to register for this free webinar via the following link:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
We encourage you to share this invite with any colleagues who may benefit from this webinar, including police officers, prosecutors, court staff, victim support services, women support services and other service providers.
Please do not hesitate to contact the PILON Secretariat (pilon@pilonsec.org) should you have any questions.

Webinar 3: Perspectives from the Bench
2022-07-29 13:30 - 14:30 (Pacific/Apia)
Sexual & Gender Based Violence Working Group

Cybercrime Working Group - Webinar 5
2022-08-05 15:00 - 17:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Cybercrime Legislation webinar

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming joint COE and PILON Cybercrime Working Group webinar on “Cybercrime Legislation in the Pacific: Sharing Perspectives on Recent Progress.” The webinar will be held on Friday 5 August at 12pm Canberra time/2pm Tarawa time/3pm Nuku’alofa time.
The webinar will discuss recent progress in harmonising and updating legal frameworks on cybercrime and electronic evidence, in line with international standards (i.e., Budapest Convention) as a crucial milestone in equipping relevant authorities in the region to address cybercrime issues. We will hear from Kiribati and Tonga on the approach their country has taken, and the Council of Europe will also present on the impacts and benefits of acceding to the Budapest Convention, the accession process and further types of assistance the Council of Europe can extend to interested countries.

Speakers

Domingo Kabunare (Kiribati Ministry of Information, Communications and Transport) is a Senior Information Analyst, responsible for the Government Cybersecurity policy, programmes, projects and other cybersecurity related activities.

Tupou K Vainikolo (Attorney General’s Office, Kingdom of Tonga) is a Crown Prosecutor in the Criminal Division. She is involved in the assessment and prosecution of indictable criminal offences, including criminal offences that are cyber-related. She assists the Attorney General in her involvement in national, regional and international matters related to cybercrime and cyber safety.

Catalina Stroe (Cybercrime Programme Office, Council of Europe) is programme manager of the Global Action on Cybercrime Extended (GLACY+), joint project of European Union and Council of Europe. The primary aim of the project is to strengthen the capacities of States worldwide to apply legislation on cybercrime and electronic evidence and enhance their abilities for effective international cooperation in this area, while ensuring compliance with international human rights standards and the rule of law.
Before joining Council of Europe, Catalina acted as a white collar crime defence attorney and for more than 15 years. She covered AML/CTF compliance matters, fraud and corruption prevention area, with extensive experience in various forensic projects.

How to Register
We invite you to register for this free webinar through the following link:

Click Here to Register

We encourage you to share this invite with any colleagues who may benefit from this webinar, including legislative drafters, those engaged in legal policy reform, and other legal professionals working on cybercrime issues in the Pacific.

Please do not hesitate to contact the PILON Secretariat (pilon@pilonsec.org) should you have any questions.

Special Measures Series Webinar - Panel Finale
2022-09-02 15:00 - 17:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Dear PILON members and friends
I am pleased to invite you to the final event in the PILON Sexual and Gender Based Violence Working Group Special Measures Series titled “Panel Finale”. This hour-long panel discussion will take place next Friday (2 September 2022) at 3PM Apia time / 12PM Port Moresby time / 1PM Port Vila & Honiara time.

In our previous webinar we heard from the judiciary. It is now time to consider the role of witness support officer, both within and beyond the courtroom. Our panel will provide insights from prosecutors, witness support officers as well as NGOs from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

We look forward to seeing you there and hearing your questions – you can submit questions through the registration link below. During the discussion, we will explore audience questions, as well as positive experiences, key challenges and thoughts on the future of witness support in the Pacific.

HOW TO REGISTER AND ASK QUESTIONS

We invite you to register and submit questions to this free panel event via the following link:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

PANELLISTS
The final panel event in this series will include the following panelists:

Ms Hellen Bennett
Victim Support Officer, Office of the Public Prosecutor (Solomon Islands)

Ms Margaret Suifa’asia
Chief Legal Officer, Office of the Public Prosecutor (Solomon Islands)

Ms Bola Masauvakalo
Victims Support Officer, Office of the Public Prosecutor (Vanuatu)

Ms Delwyn
Dau
In-house Lawyer, Femili PNG (a non-government organisation who provides survivors of family and sexual violence access to services, support and care).

Ms Mercy Tamate
State Prosecutor, PIC – Family & Sexual Offences Unit, Office of the Public Prosecutor (PNG)

We encourage you to share this invite with any colleagues who may benefit from this panel discussion, including police officers, prosecutors, court staff, victim support services, women support services and other service providers.
HOW TO WATCH THE FULL SERIES
To watch the previous webinars and hear about new resources, subscribe to our YouTube channel or use the links below:

Webinar 1 (prosecutors from larger jurisdictions: Fiji and Samoa)
Webinar 2 (prosecutors from smaller jurisdictions: Cook Islands and RMI)
Webinar 3 (judicial perspectives: Samoa and Tuvalu)

Please do not hesitate to contact the PILON Secretariat (pilon@pilonsec.org) should you have any questions.

Corruption Working Group Webinar : Mutual Assistance
2022-10-21 14:00 - 15:30 (Pacific/Apia)
Dear PILON members and friends,
I am pleased to invite you to the PILON Corruption Working Group’s webinar on Mutual Assistance, taking place on Friday 21st October 2022 at 1:00pm Nauru time / 2:00pm Apia time.
The webinar will provide an overview on mutual assistance, including:

Obtaining intelligence from Police-to-Police assistance and INTERPOL and;
How to obtain evidence, and the types of evidence that can be obtained from the mutual assistance process

This webinar will be useful for anyone involved in the mutual assistance process, such as Police officers, public prosecutors and those working in Central Authorities for International Crime Cooperation in the Pacific Islands.
Please register for this webinar via the following link, to receive details on how to join on the day.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
We encourage you to share this invite with any colleagues who may benefit. Please do not hesitate to contact the PILON Secretariat (pilon@pilonsec.org) should you have any questions.

2023 Pacific Legal Policy Programs
2023-04-17 08:00 - 2023-04-28 17:00 (Pacific/Apia) | Australian Attorney-General’s Department, 3-5 National Circuit, Barton, ACT, 2600, Australia
Are you a high performing Pacific law or justice or police officer looking to develop your policy skills? We are offering opportunities in our Pacific Policy Champions Program and our Pacific Legal Policy Twinning Program.
The Policy Champions Program aims to build the capacity of Pacific law and justice officers to develop rigorous public policy proposals and enable them to be champions for good policy development practices. Placement in Canberra will take place from 17 to 28 April 2023.
The Policy Twinning program focus is on improving participant legal policy skills and progressing an identified policy project of priority to their home agency. Placement for this 2-month program in Canberra will take place from 17 April to 9 June 2023.
Applications for both programs are now open and will close at 5:00pm AEST on Friday 3 February 2023.
For more information visit Pacific Legal Policy Twinning Program | Attorney-General’s Department (ag.gov.au)

Webinar: Gift giving vs Corruption - Where is the line?
2023-06-22 13:00 - 15:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Dear PILON members and friends
I am pleased to invite you to the PILON Corruption Working Group webinar: “Gift giving vs Corruption – where is the line?”, taking place on Thursday 22 June 2023 at 1:00pm Nauru time / 12 noon Honiara time / 11am Port Moresby time.
It can be difficult to distinguish between corrupt conduct and gift giving, particularly where gift giving is a long standing and well-accepted part of our culture. Finding the line between the two presents a challenge for policy makers, legislators, investigators and prosecutors. The Corruption Working Group’s webinar will explore this issue through the perspectives of a range of law and justice officials. We invite you to register via this link:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Webinar speakers include Mr Johnson Toribiong (former President of the Republic of Palau), Ms Josephine Pitmur (Deputy Secretary, Department of Justice and Attorney General, PNG), Ms Mele Lemaki Tagivakatini (Office of the Solicitor General, Nauru) and Mr Rashmi Aslam (Commissioner, FICAC).
Mr Johnson Toribiong was the President of the Republic of Palau (2009-2013). He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1968 with a BA in political science and minor in economics, and graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1972, before being admitted to the Washington State Bar. He has practiced law in a number of countries including the US, Guam, and Palau. He has been involved in drafting the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Constitution of the Republic of Palau, and was the first Ambassador from Palau to the Republic of China Taiwan. He was appointed in 1999 traditional chief Ngiraked of Airai State, Republic of Palau and in 2011 was appointed traditional chief Luhk en Nahnmewas of Madolehnimw of Phonpei State, Federated States of Micronesia.
Ms Mele Lemaki Tagivakatini is an expatriate legal officer in the Office of the Solicitor General, Department of Justice (Nauru) with 13 years of legal experience. Mele has been working in Nauru’s Department of Justice since 2017. Mele’s work includes assisting Nauru’s Secretary for Justice and Border Control in providing support for OECD, UNCAC and related work. Mele was a member of the Nauru team that provided support and reviewed Nauru’s legal and institutional framework for Nauru’s state of implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption Review cycle: 2 (Chapter II and V). Before joining Nauru’s Department of Justice, Mele worked previously at the Legal Aid Commission (Fiji), the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority and Eigigu Holdings Corporation (Nauru).
The Commissioner of Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, Mr. Rashmi Aslam, is a lawyer with 20 years of experience specializing in Serious and complex fraud, corruption and white-collar crimes prosecutions. He attained his Master of Laws (LL.M) in Advance Criminal Law Studies. He Joined the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) in 2012 as a Senior Prosecutor and worked his way up through the Commission to become its first Commissioner in 2022.Mr Aslam has prosecuted many high-profile cases in Fiji setting various important legal principles and guidelines in fraud and corruption cases that contributed to the development of the anti-corruption jurisprudence in Fiji.

We encourage you to share this invite with any colleagues who may benefit from this webinar including police officers, prosecutors, and policy officers.

Please do not hesitate to contact the PILON Secretariat (pilon@pilonsec.org) should you have any questions.

2024 Pacific Legal Policy Twinning Programs
2023-11-15 08:00 - 2023-11-24 17:00 (Pacific/Apia)
Are you a high performing Pacific law and justice or police officer looking to develop your legal policy skills?

The Australian Attorney’s General’s Department is inviting applications for the 2024 Pacific Legal Policy Twinning Program, from officers who have previously completed the AGD Pacific Legal Policy Champions Program.

The Twinning Program focuses on improving participants’ legal policy skills and progressing an identified policy project of priority to their home agency. This program will take place in Canberra from 5 February to 22 March 2024.

Applications close 5:00 pm AEDT on Friday 24 November 2023.

The department will pay for all travel and reasonable living expenses associated with the Program and selection will be through a competitive application process judged against selection criteria. Participation is subject to passport, visa and Australian Government security clearances.
To learn more visit: https://www.ag.gov.au/international-relations/pacific-law-and-justice-program/pacific-legal-policy-twinning-program
