A prestigious conference of senior legal figures hosted in Bermuda provided food for thought as the Island strives to improve its justice system, said the local judge who organised it.

The Regional and Gender Conference of the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (CMJA) attracted 167 delegates from 33 Commonwealth nations. Among the topics on the agenda for the three-day event were equality and the courts, gender and human rights and family and gender-based violence.

It was organised by Bermuda's Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller, who is Regional Vice-President of the CMJA, and hosted by Chief Justice Richard Ground.

Speaking as the event at the Fairmont Southampton resort wrapped up earlier this week, Mrs. Justice Wade-Miller told The Royal Gazette: "Bermuda is a prosperous, vibrant economy, with a strong legal presence. Yet we too have our well-advertised problems. Our system of justice is in need of improvement in many areas, and the country has its own dark sides, just as do all other countries represented here this week. This conference... provides much food for thought to us as well, as we seek to improve our own legal processes and face up to areas in which we too might be deficient in the areas of equality and gender."

Mrs. Justice Wade-Miller said topics relevant to Bermuda discussed at length in the international context included outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation — the topic of an ongoing campaign on the Island. The Bermudian delegation, she said, learned more about the ways other countries have handled this issue.

"The conference has shown that the issues of equality and gender are hugely important in different ways to the countries represented here. In advanced democracies with strong economies we have learned the importance of ensuring that legal processes are structured to ensure fairness in situations where there is a risk of discrimination on grounds of gender, culture, disability, sexual orientation or age. In nations emerging from conflict, we have learned that legal systems have to create structures which modify cultural customs which are often contrary to international conventions on human rights," she said.

At the start of the conference on Monday, Attorney General Philip Perinchief announced that legislation to outlaw discrimination against women is set to be tabled in the next session of Parliament. He is working on Bermuda signing up to the principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Adopted in 1979 by the UN, it is described as an international bill of rights for women, defining what constitutes discrimination against them and setting up an agenda for national action to end it. CEDAW defines discrimination against women as encompassing the political, economic, social and cultural realms. By accepting the convention, states commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including abolishing discriminatory laws and adopting new ones prohibiting discrimination against women. The convention also provides for tribunals to be established to ensure the effective protection of women against gender-based discrimination.

Mrs. Justice Wade-Miller said of the news: "Until I see the details I can't really comment fully, but any discrimination against women or any entity should be looked at and the legislators should tackle it."