The Panel
Moderator - Justice Virgil Narokobi
Justice Virgil Narokobi is a Judge of the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea and serves as the Pacific regional representative on the Council of the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA). He also administers the Secretariat for Judicial Well-being and has been actively involved in initiatives promoting judicial well-being and strengthening institutional engagement within the judiciary. Justice Narokobi will moderate the panel discussion.
Opening Remarks - Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi
Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi is the founding President of the Pacific Islands Judicial Officers’ Association (PIJOA) and also serves as President of the Asia Pacific Mediation Forum (APMF). He was a member of the Drafting Committee of the Nauru Declaration on Judicial Well-being. As President of PIJOA, he has championed greater regional cooperation among judges and judicial officers and the development of a Pacific platform through which the unique judicial, cultural and societal perspectives of the region can be shared. Deputy Chief Justice Kandakasi will deliver the opening remarks at the webinar.
Closing Remarks - Justice Daryl Leiataualesa Clarke
Justice Daryl Leiataualesa Clarke is a Judge from Samoa and serves as Secretary of PIJOA. He is a founding member of PIJOA and was the first editor of the PIJOA newsletter, an initiative he introduced to connect judges and magistrates across the Pacific region. Justice Clarke will deliver the closing remarks and reflect on the importance of continued regional collaboration in advancing judicial well-being across Pacific judiciaries.
Principal Magistrate Elma Veenah Rizzu Hilly
Principal Magistrate Elma Veenah Rizzu Hilly is a judicial officer of the Solomon Islands and brings to the panel the perspective and experience of serving within a Pacific Island judiciary. She is also a member of the Gender Committee of the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association. Her contribution will assist in exploring judicial well-being from the perspective of magistrates and the realities faced by judicial officers in the region.
Magistrate Tebora Williams
Magistrate Tebora Williams serves in the judiciary of Kiribati. She has been a long-standing advocate for judicial well-being and brings valuable experience from a small Pacific Island jurisdiction. She will contribute to the discussion on judicial culture, institutional support and the particular challenges faced by judicial officers working within close-knit island communities.
Justice Usaia Ratuvili
Justice Usaia Ratuvili is a senior Puisne Judge of the High Court of Fiji and the current Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Fiji. He brings over 25 years of legal and judicial experience, including his service as Fiji’s Chief Magistrate from 2011 to 2021. Justice Ratuvili will contribute a valuable Pacific perspective to the discussion on judicial leadership, institutional culture and the importance of creating professional environments that support judicial officers, with particular focus on the institutional initiatives taken in Fiji to promote judicial well-being.
Dr Anne Pickering
Dr Anne Pickering is an academic at the Australian Catholic University and is involved in research relating to judicial well-being in the Pacific. Her contribution will provide an academic and research perspective on understanding the experiences of judicial officers and the importance of evidence-based approaches to promoting judicial well-being.
Justice Leilani Tuala-Warren
Justice Professor Tafaoimalo Tologata Leilani Tuala-Warren is Dean of Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato. She is the first Dean of Law of Pacific descent and the first woman to be appointed Professor of Law in Aotearoa New Zealand. Professor Tuala-Warren has had a distinguished career across academia, law reform and the judiciary. She served as Samoa’s first Executive Director of the Samoa Law Reform Commission and, in 2013, was appointed as Samoa’s first Family Court and Family Violence Court Judge. In 2016, she was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa, becoming the second woman to hold that position. In 2025, she was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal, which considers Treaty of Waitangi claims and supports reconciliation between Māori and the New Zealand Crown. In 2026, she was appointed as a Judge of the Kiribati Court of Appeal.
Professor Joseph Sadek
Professor Joseph Sadek is a Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University in Canada. He brings specialist expertise in mental health and well-being and will contribute a clinical and professional perspective to the discussion, including the impact of occupational stress and the importance of institutional approaches to supporting judicial officers. Professor Sadek has worked with judges from around the world on issues relating to judicial stress and mental well-being and is a passionate advocate for the promotion of judicial well-being.
Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena
Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena is a Judge of the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea and Coordinator of the Secretariat for Judicial Well-being. In 2024, he led a team of chief justices and senior judges from around the world in drafting the Nauru Declaration on Judicial Well-being. The proclamation of the International Day for Judicial Well-being by the United Nations was also one of his initiatives. Having served in several jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region and having promoted judicial well-being for over ten years, Justice Wimalasena will discuss the background to the Nauru Declaration on Judicial Well-being and the International Day for Judicial Well-being.
24 July 2026 from 12.00 pm (PNG Time)
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Organized By
PIJOA and Secretariat for Judicial Well-being
