News
ADB Supports Fiji’s Move to Modernize Forestry Legislation to Address 21st Century Challenges
Fiji is drafting a new forestry bill to replace its 1992 Forest Act—modernizing the law to provide more holistic protection to forests. With ADB’s Law and Policy Reform Program, Fijian officials are working to align the draft with domestic and international commitments, including the Climate Change Act 2021 and the Paris Agreement, and with stakeholders’ needs. In May 2025, the Ministry of Forestry and ADB held stakeholders' consultations, allowing affected communities, traditional landowners, and others to inform the final version before it reaches Parliament.
ADB Supports Interministerial Consultations on Fiji’s Draft Carbon Market Regulations
On 13 May 2025, Fijian government ministries convened to review the draft carbon market regulations that will guide the country’s future engagements with the international carbon market. ADB legal experts helped organize the sessions and impressed upon the participants the importance of setting the boundaries of government oversight and improving intragovernmental coordination, key steps toward fostering investor confidence, and ensuring effective implementation.
ADB Equips Timorese Judges, Prosecutors, and Police Officers with Tools to Facilitate Access to Justice for Victim-Survivors of Violence against Women and Girls
ADB has been working with the Timor-Leste government to make justice more accessible for victim-survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) since 2021. On 25 April 2025, ADB supplied audio recorders and privacy dividers to prosecutors, and judicial and police officers, enabling them to interview victims-survivors and witnesses of GBV—especially women and girls—in a manner that better respects their privacy, reducing the emotional trauma caused by questioning. ADB also provided judges with a knowledge resource on adjudicating GBV cases and on reducing the difficulties faced by women and girls in the formal justice system.
ADB Enhances Cambodian Firms’ Capacity to Navigate International Trade Ahead of the Country’s Graduation from Least Developed Country Status
Cambodia’s upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status will open the door to new global market opportunities—and tougher competition. In April, ADB, UNCTAD, and Cambodian trade agencies trained over 180 participants from the Cambodian public and private sector on how to leverage rules of origin and preferential trade regimes to promote Cambodian goods, and on how to better navigate the global economy.
Luxembourg Lauds ADB’s Impactful Islamic Finance for the Philippines Technical Assistance
The Luxembourg government commended the Islamic Finance for the Philippines Technical Assistance (TA) as a model initiative in a meeting with representatives of ADB and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on 10 April 2025. This USD 1.1 million TA, implemented from 2017 to 2024, has achieved significant milestones. Key accomplishments include the enactment of Republic Act No. 11439 (the Islamic Banking Law), the issuance of a USD 1 billion sovereign sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, training of over 1,700 professionals, and licensing of Islamic banking and insurance providers.
ADB Partners with Uzbekistan Supreme Court Towards Investor-Friendly Commercial Dispute Resolution Ecosystem
On 28 March 2025, ADB and the Uzbekistan Supreme Court held a ceremony to mark the successful conclusion of a two-year judicial capacity-building program and the handover of 295 copies of the International Commercial Arbitration Handbook for Judges to be distributed to all economic court judges nationwide.
ADB Principal Counsel Nicholas Moller Speaks About His Career in Insolvency, on the INSOL Talks Podcast
On this episode of INSOL talks, Nicholas shares his perspectives on the insolvency systems in Asia - with its diverse legal, economic, and cultural landscapes - and his reflections on the career path that led him to ADB and law and policy reform work. Check out the podcast now!
ADB Trains Fijian Public Defenders on the Fiji Bench Book on Children
On 3–16 March 2025, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted a series of workshops based on Parts A and B of the Fiji Bench Book on Children for 108 Legal Aid Commission (LAC) lawyers. Parts A and B of the Fiji Bench Book on Children serve as a guide for dealing with children coming before the courts in criminal proceedings, including child complainants and witnesses.
ADB’s Law and Policy Reform Program Collaborates with Partners to Strengthen Alternative Dispute Resolution in Asia and the Pacific
On 18-19 February 2025, ADB’s Law and Policy Reform Program, in conjunction with the ADB Institute, UNCITRAL and Japan Ministry of Justice convened the Policy Dialogue on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and brought together policymakers, ADR institutions, private sector, lawyers, judges and academia to discuss the current landscape of ADR development in Asia and the Pacific.
ADBs Convenes Knowledge-Sharing Seminar on International Investment Agreements in the Renewable Energy Sector
On 7 February 2025, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Law and Policy Reform Program—in cooperation with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade (MIIT)—held a knowledge-sharing seminar entitled "A Primer on International Investment Agreements: Energy Investments" in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.