International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION

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International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
International Bar Association
THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
© International Bar Association (IBA) 2021
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
CONTENTS
Welcome messages                         Public and Professional                  Conferences42
                                         Interest Division 25
IBA President Sternford Moyo        5
                                                                                  IBA Digital Content46
IBA Executive Director Mark Ellis   7   Section on Public and
                                                                                  Global insight: Film            46
                                         Professional Interest 26
About the International                                                           Global insight: Podcasts        48
Bar Association9                        Bar Issues Commission 28
                                                                                  IBA Global Insight magazine     48
A brief history 12                      IBA’s Human Rights Institute 31
                                                                                  Journals, magazines and books   48

Membership14                            Outreach36                              Website and social media        48
                                          Legal Policy and Research Unit    36
IBA structure 18                                                                 IBA and the global media        50
                                          IBA International Criminal
Legal Practice Division 20               Court and International                 Education 53
                                          Criminal Law Programme            41
Regional Fora 22                                                                 Contact info 56
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
4
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
WELCOME MESSAGES
IBA President Sternford Moyo

I greet you all in the spirit of friendship,
  solidarity and collegiality, which lies at the
heart of the relationships within our great
                                                   It is refreshing to witness, across all nations
                                                   and cultures, an encouraging rejection of
                                                   all forms of discrimination, the embracing
                                                                                                      as well as providing more secure pathways to
                                                                                                      stability and prosperity.

association and trust that I find you well in      of equality in relation to gender, ethnicity,      In addition to hosting events, developing
the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The            beliefs, disability and others. In many parts of   projects, and leading campaigns, the
pandemic emphasises the importance of              the world, we have witnessed demonstrations        Association produces extensive digital
positive human relationships and the need for      which are a manifestation of impatience with       content – whether film, audio or the written
us all to discharge our responsibility to care     inequality and injustice, and a quest for a        word – providing insight on issues of
for one another and treat all with whom we         better world.                                      specialist areas of law, and on the legal and
interact, with dignity, fairness and equality.                                                        ethical aspects of wider global issues that
                                                   Working through our Rule of Law Forum, the         shape current international decision-making,
Among the main objects of our Association          Human Rights Institute and across our great        in diverse fields such as technologies, poverty,
is the creation and fostering of positive          association geographically and thematically,       the environment, geopolitics, mass migration,
relationships and exchanges among lawyers,         we propose to deepen our commitment                corruption, protectionism, or numerous
law societies and bar associations, in order       to promote the positive values we have             others. We aim to help equip and empower
to strengthen our capacity as a profession to      always promoted and reject all forms of            our members and all others who use these
promote and protect the rule of law, human         discrimination and unfairness in the practice      resources to engage more fully with the
rights and an effective administration of          of law and the administration of justice.          defining challenges of our time.
justice. We furthermore endeavour to build
the capacity of our national bar associations      Diversity, in all its forms, is a value which we   I invite you to learn more about our
and embark on profession development               ought to pursue vigorously. Law, a field of        Association by reading this brochure, and by
programmes, to enable us to collectively and       human endeavour based on a philosophy of           engaging with the wide range of content on
effectively promote and protect core values of     even handedness, should really be the first        our website. If you would like to join us as a
our profession.                                    place where all forms of discrimination and        member and take part in our activities, you
                                                   inequality ought to be eliminated.                 would be especially welcome. We would love
The rule of law has been challenged in                                                                to have your voice added to ours.
many parts of the world, including in              Many of our committees work within
those nations traditionally considered to be       commercial law specialisations, helping to
developed democracies. The situation has           share knowledge across peer groups and
been exacerbated by failure by governments         across borders, and creating precedents,
in many parts of the world to respond              standards and guidelines to make
to national emergencies, such as the               international transactions more efficient.
health emergency that we face within the           This is often achieved by recommending
framework of the rule of law and observance        potential cross-border harmonisations, or by
of human rights. Consequently, it has              proposing model contracts to balance diverse
become important for us to implement and           interests, such as the right to have safe and
maintain active and extensive programmes           secure investments working in harmony with
highlighting the importance of the rule of         the rights of the communities where the
law and capacitate national bars, particularly     investment takes place. By helping to develop
developing bars, to respond appropriately to       and promote such ideas and models, the
these challenges.                                  spirit of justice and the rule of law is served,

                                                                                                                                                         5
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
© IBA

6
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
IBA Executive Director Mark Ellis
This past year has been the most challenging        working committee sessions, organised              Accompanying it is a kind of nationalism that
in the IBA’s history. As for so many                131 networking events, and broadcast               adds a sinister layer of ideology and threatens
organisations, the onslaught of Covid dashed        20, Conversations with…, featuring such            the values of liberal democracy.
our plans for a busy year of collaboration          luminaries as John Kerry, 68th US Secretary
and connections. Out of necessity, we               of State; Martin Luther King III, Global           Embedded in today’s populist movements are
immediately pivoted to a fully functioning          Human Rights Leader; John B Bellinger              remarkable ignorance and disregard for the
virtual association. Thanks to strong financial     III, Senate-confirmed Legal Adviser to the         rule of law. Anti-democratic and authoritarian
reserves and remarkable volunteers in               Department of State (2005-2009); The               forces attack the most basic benchmarks of
countless leadership positions within the           Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma               the rule of law – an independent judiciary,
Association, we had what we needed to               Tao-li, GBM, Chief Justice of the Hong Kong        free press, and civil society. Mainstream
succeed and even excel in the Covid-19              Court of Final Appeal; Rt Hon Lord Patten          media is seen as the enemy and the judicial
world. Paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr.,         of Barnes CH, Governor of Hong Kong                system part of the corrupt elite. International
it’s easy to lead in times of comfort, but it’s     (1992-1997); Rt Hon David Miliband,                institutions like the United Nations, European
how we lead in times of challenges that in          President and CEO of International Rescue          Union, the World Bank and the IMF are
the end will define us.                             Committee; Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP,             rejected. Transatlantic relations rupture.
                                                    First Minister of Scotland; Kerry Kennedy,
I want to thank and pay tribute to the IBA                                                             When I was at university, I remember reading
                                                    President of Robert F Kennedy Human
staff. Facing the most significant challenge                                                           the seminal publication, The Open Society
                                                    Rights; Mary Robinson, President of Ireland
in our history, they persevered, embracing                                                             and its Enemies, written in 1945 by Karl
                                                    (1990-1997); Justice Richard J Goldstone,
Horace’s lesson that, ‘in adversity, remember                                                          Popper. He defended liberal democracy
                                                    Chief Prosecutor of ICTY and ICTR
to keep an even mind [Aequam memento                                                                   and warned of the dangers of totalitarian
                                                    (1994-1996); Dr Fatou Bensouda, ICC
rebus in arduis servare mentem]’, that is                                                              ideology in the post-World War II period. I
                                                    Prosecutor; and Gordon Brown, Prime
exactly what they did! Stationed around                                                                think those dangers are now manifest and
                                                    Minister of the United Kingdom
the world, they came together virtually as a                                                           require an innovative response by the legal
                                                    (2007-2010).
highly efficient, finely-tuned team to get the                                                         community. This is a crisis of our time. This
job done. They deserve our eternal gratitude.       The success of our operations during these         should be our programmatic focus for 2021.
                                                    extraordinary times is, I believe, a reflection
As an association, we shifted all the liabilities                                                      Despite the now-trending retreat from
                                                    of who we are. The IBA has always been
associated with the spring specialised                                                                 globalisation, we, as diverse nations and
                                                    more than a trade association. We are the
conferences and our mid-year council                                                                   people, remain interdependent. Those
                                                    global voice of the legal profession. Thus, in
meetings. We moved the IBA 2020 Annual                                                                 of us in the legal profession, and indeed
                                                    times of crisis it is not surprising that people
Conference scheduled for Miami, and all its                                                            defenders of the rule of law everywhere,
                                                    look to the IBA for insight, guidance, and
attached liabilities, to 2022.                                                                         must not abandon our global perspective and
                                                    even solutions to the issues at hand. We are
                                                                                                       commitments. The IBA, with its worldwide
                                                    rightfully seen as a thought leader, shaping
During the last ten months of 2020, we                                                                 membership, remains a strong voice for
                                                    and enhancing commercial transactions,
created a Covid-19 website with 153 articles                                                           international commerce, and it holds true
                                                    speaking out against global human rights
focused on the law in the pandemic area.                                                               to its founding principles to be a force for
                                                    violations, representing the legal profession,
                                                                                                       peace through justice, fair practice
The IBA committees and staff worked                 and advocating for, and protecting, the rule
                                                                                                       and accountability.
tirelessly to launch 134 webinars, attracting       of law.
over 100,000 registrants.
                                                    This last area – protecting the rule of
We then turned our attention to producing           law – is particularly salient today as we
the IBA’s 2020 – Virtually Together                 witness the destructive rise of populism.
Conference. The month-long Conference               Seemingly born of unfulfilled expectations,
attracted 13,323 registrants, making it             perceived loss of cultural identity, and income
by far the largest virtual conference of            disparity, populism has taken root in countries
lawyers in the world. We presented 197              across the world, even in surprising places.

                                                                                                                                                         7
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
IBA2020
                                    2–27 November

                   VIRTUALLY TOGETHER

    In 2020 we held our first virtual conference attended by
    over 13,000 participants from 160 countries. The month-long
    Conference included over 238 working sessions and 100
    networking sessions.

8
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
A B O U T T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L
B A R A S S O C I AT I O N
The IBA, established in 1947, is the world’s     access to leading experts and up-to-date           between the IBA Legal Policy and Research
leading organisation of international legal      information, enabling them to better               Unit (LPRU) and the European Parliament’s
practitioners, bar associations, law firms and   represent their clients’ interests.                Rapporteur on Whistleblower Protections,
law societies.                                                                                      MEP Virginie Rozière; or the IBA LPRU’s
                                                 Through its various committees, fora and task      participation in several Expert Working
The IBA influences the development of            forces, the IBA facilitates the exchange of        Groups of the UNODC.
international law reform and shapes the          information and views among its members
future of the legal profession throughout        as to laws, practices and professional
the world. It has a membership of more than      responsibilities relating to the practice of law   IBA presidential task forces
80,000 individual lawyers and nearly 190 bar     around the globe.
associations and law societies spanning over                                                        and special projects
170 countries.
                                                 Global partnerships                                As part of its mandate to be the voice of the
Inspired by the vision of the United Nations,                                                       legal profession, the IBA convenes a number of
the IBA was founded in the same spirit, just     The IBA has created partnerships and works         task forces and presidential priorities to explore
before the Universal Declaration of Human        closely with a number of global bodies,            and address pressing contemporary issues.
Rights was proclaimed in 1948.                   including the:
                                                                                                    These include focus on a wide variety of areas:
The principal aims and objectives of the IBA     • UN Conference on Trade and Development
are to:                                                                                             • Us Too: Bullying and Sexual Harassment in
                                                   (UNCTAD);
                                                                                                      the Legal Professions – a global report
• protect the rule of law and enhance the        • UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);
                                                                                                    • Whistleblower Protections
  rule of law globally;                          • UN Commission on International Trade Law
                                                                                                    • Climate change justice and human rights,
                                                   (UNCITRAL);
• support the independence of the judiciary                                                           addressing this fundamental justice
                                                 • Organisation for Economic Co-operation             concern and assessing the challenges to
  and the right of lawyers to practise their
                                                   and Development (OECD);                            the current national and international legal
  profession without interference;
                                                 • Financial Action Task Force (FATF);                regimes on climate change
• support human rights for lawyers
  worldwide through the IBA’s Human              • B20;                                             • Human trafficking and how the legal
  Rights Institute;                              • European Commission                                profession can contribute to mitigate the
                                                                                                      problem
• provide members with world-class               • European Parliament;
  professional development to enable                                                                • Independence of the legal profession,
                                                 • World Bank;
  them and their organisations to deliver                                                             assessing the threats to the independence
                                                 • World Trade Organization (WTO);                    of lawyers around the world; and
  outstanding legal services;
                                                 • International Institute for the Unification of   • Digital contact tracing for the Covid-19
• promote an exchange of information and
                                                   Private Law (UNIDROIT); and                        pandemic – a business and human rights
  views among its members as to laws,
  practices and professional responsibilities    • Office of the UN High Commissioner for             perspective
  around the globe                                 Human Rights (OHCHR).
                                                                                                    Current key interest areas for the IBA include
• deliver top-level international network-       The IBA brings together the worldwide legal        cybersecurity, the future of the legal profession,
  building opportunities;                        fraternity to develop the harmonisation            judicial integrity and the rule of law.
• be committed to the development of             of law across borders and provide an
  international law reform; and                  environment conducive to international
• contribute to the advancement,                 business. Examples include: the IBA OECD
  development and harmonisation of law at        UNODC Anti-Corruption Strategy for the
  an international level.                        Legal Profession; the IBA Women Business
                                                 Lawyers Initiative; the Anti-Money Laundering
The IBA covers all practice areas and            Forum; the IBA Working Group on Business
professional interests, providing members        and Human Rights; the collaboration

                                                                                                                                                         9
International Bar Association - THE GLOBAL VOICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
Clockwise from top: Screen-shot from the
     IBA app; eyeWitness to Atrocities logo;
     delegates at the Opening Ceremony,
     IBA Annual Conference, Rome
     Opposite page: Business Law International,
     Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law
     and Competition Law International

10
IBA Bar Issues Commission                          IBA International Criminal                                                                          IBA conferences,
                                                   Court and International                                                                             publications, website and
The IBA’s Bar Issues Commission (BIC)
represents the interests of nearly 190 bars        Criminal Law Programme                                                                              app (www.ibanet.org)
and law societies from over 170 countries
that are members of the IBA.                       The IBA International Criminal Court and                                                            The IBA’s world-class events and
                                                   International Criminal Law (ICC & ICL)                                                              high-quality media content provide unrivalled
It provides an invaluable forum for IBA            Programme monitors issues related to fairness                                                       professional development and network
member organisations to discuss all matters        and equality of arms at the ICC and other                                                           building opportunities for international legal
relating to law at an international level and to   Hague-based war crimes tribunals, and                                                               practitioners and professional associates. The
exchange views and expertise, with the aim         encourages the legal community to engage                                                            IBA organises over 50 specialist conferences
of raising standards and sharing best practice.    with the work of these Courts. Programme                                                            globally each year, interactive webinars, and
Representatives from bar associations sit on       information is disseminated through regular                                                         the IBA Annual Conference, the world’s largest
the IBA Council, which is the governing body       reports, expert discussions, workshops                                                              gathering of international lawyers, attracting
of the IBA.                                        and other events. The IBA Hague Office                                                              around 6,000 attendees each year.
                                                   selectively monitors other courts and tribunals
The BIC is engaged in a number of projects to      with a mandate to try international crimes.                                                         Publications and committee updates cover
address contemporary issues relevant to bar        The Programme also acts as the interface                                                            a wide variety of interests with high-quality
associations and law societies.                    between the Courts and the global legal                                                             information for practitioners. The IBA’s
                                                   community, and consults and interacts with                                                          flagship magazine IBA Global Insight keeps
                                                   Courts’ officials, civil society organisations,                                                     members informed of the issues affecting
IBA’s Human Rights                                 academics and international lawyers.                                                                the legal profession around the world. All
Institute                                                                                                                                              publications and reports are available through
                                                                                                                                                       the IBA website and app.
The IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI),         eyeWitness to Atrocities
an autonomous and financially independent
entity, works with the global legal                eyeWitness to Atrocities, an initiative of the
community to promote and protect human             IBA, is a registered charity seeking justice for
rights and the independence of the legal           the worst international crimes. Launched in                                                                                                                                                                                              TRIM SIZE: 170
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             X 245 mm

profession worldwide.                              2015, eyeWitness seeks to facilitate justice                                                    SPINE WIDTH:
                                                                                                                                                                     6.0 mm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Journal of
                                                   for atrocity crimes by providing human
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    2020      pp 339–477
                                                                                                                                                                              Journal of ENER

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    4 November
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Vol 38 No

It provides human rights training and              rights documenters with a mobile camera                                                                                                                                      Energy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 & Natural ion Law
                                                                                                                                                                                              GY & NATU

technical assistance for legal practitioners       app to capture verifiable photos and video                                                                                                                                        mce
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Cour     Law
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and institutions, building their capacity to       for investigations or trials. The information                                                                                                                                                                                                                          must be part
                                                                                                                                                                                               RESOURCE

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Editorial                                  , ‘energy security’
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               sources transition
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effectively promote and protect human
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Geoffrey A Mabea                                          hotspots and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ry framework:                                          ISSN 1817 5708
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            electricity regulatoy development                      2019
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The Nigerian              le electricit             DECEMBER

rights under a just rule of law. A leading
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            for off-grid renewab 2 pp 101–236

                                                   analysts who identify the appropriate regional,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             OleNo                                                         ed
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Vol 15
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Ngozi Chinwa                                              ater law: establish
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Critical perspect novel concept of public
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              trusteesh
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             on big tech
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             practice and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   n  compe      tition law: tough
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 European electricit           ds in the
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        on displacem
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   develo pments in Brazil

institution in international fact-finding,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             a                            codes
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              systems – finally
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   getting
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               the European
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                network         sector: recent

                                                   national and international justice mechanisms
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Package and ance in the digital
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Clean Energy
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Guilherm                   Contract (IPC)                              Data
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Bureau and Big
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Iran Petroleum
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               through the
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The Canadian
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Elaheh Ghorbani

it produces expert reports with key
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             g value of
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                                                   to act on the information. eyeWitness
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                CommeZirjan        ons, three judgeme
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Derwa                                in strengthening
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Three jurisdicti litigation and judicial practice
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                environmental                    law               t: is  China     different?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ental rule  of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  the interne
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Antitrust and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                the environm
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                post COVID-19
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Cameron Diver                             and energy policy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Adrian Emchonal taxation ng countries
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Rethinking internati                                                                 against big tech
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       crisis for developi                          st enforcement

recommendations, delivering timely and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 and the financial and Jack Sheehan s in EU antitru

                                                   works closely with its partners around the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Raphael J. Heffron development
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Recent
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Book Review                                                                                           y
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Rino Caiazzo                                                            the digital econom
                                                                                                                                                                                                              VOL 38 NO 4

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               tition law and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       challenge – compe
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Rising to the

reliable information on human rights and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Jay Modrall
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Ariel Ezrachi and

                                                   world to collect, curate and tag relevant
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              in India
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           tech regulation
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        pments in big                    Ramesh and Rajshree
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Sharma
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                 2020

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Krithika
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Hemangini Dadwal,                                                   ctive
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Aditi Gopalak
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 rishnan,                                                      country perspe
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          y: a developing
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         digital econom

the legal profession. The IBAHRI supports
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        policy in the

                                                   information, which is used to build photo
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Competition                      James Hodge
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Thembalethu
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Buthelezi and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        of antitru      st law in the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ement16:37:03
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 10-10-2020
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      tion and enforc
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    pments in legisla
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Recent develo       in South Korea
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     digital/tech sector

lawyers and judges who are arbitrarily             and video dossiers that can later be used by                                                                                                                                                                                      Dave B Koo and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Tae Hyuk Ko
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            st enforcement
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                of the tech titans
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                VOL 15 NO 2

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              in US antitru
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         go: a new card
                                                                                             RNRL 38_4 Cover_Mac.
                                                                                                                 indd 1-3                                                                                                                                                             Do not pass
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         and Abigail Cessna
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Timothy Cornell

harassed, intimidated or arrested through
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  tion
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   each jurisdic

                                                   accountability mechanisms.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 regulators from
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            2019

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Interviews with

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     10:58:28

advocacy and trial monitoring.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        06/01/2020

                                                                                                                                                                 1
                                                                                                                                            November 2019.indd
                                                                                                                            CLI - cover -

A focus on pertinent human rights issues,
including the independence of the judiciary
and legal profession, sexual and gender
based violence, the abolition of the death
penalty, sexual orientation and torture
prevention, forms the basis of targeted
capacity-building and advocacy projects
based on thematic areas.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                11
A BRIEF HISTORY
     I nspired by the vision of the United Nations
       and with the aim of supporting the
     establishment of law and the administration
                                                      regardless of practice area, such as law firm
                                                      management, professional ethics and legal
                                                      training. (See p 25.) The PPID includes the Bar
                                                                                                         Human rights
                                                                                                         The IBA Standing Committee on Human
     of justice worldwide, representatives of 34      Issues Commission (BIC), which coordinates         Rights and the Just Rule of Law was formed
     national bar associations gathered in New        activities and projects in the interest of IBA     in the 1980s. In 1992, an Action Plan
     York on 17 February 1947 to create the           member organisations (bar associations and         was adopted to establish a Trial Observer
     International Bar Association.                   law societies). (See p 28.)                        Corps and investigate cases where judges
                                                                                                         and lawyers or the independence of bar
                                                      To build on the principles of the IBA’s regional
                                                                                                         associations were threatened. In 1995,
     From strength to strength                        fora, which represent the interests of lawyers
                                                                                                         the formation of the IBA’s Human Rights
                                                      practising in or with links to a particular
                                                                                                         Institute (IBAHRI) expanded this work and
     IBA membership grew steadily and was             region, and adding to the head office in
                                                                                                         gave member organisations and individual
     accelerated in 1970 by the admission of          London, England, IBA offices were established
                                                                                                         members the opportunity to contribute
     individual lawyers to the Association and the    in São Paulo, Brazil in 2005; in Seoul, South
                                                                                                         actively. Today, the IBAHRI works across
     formation of the IBA Section on Business Law     Korea in 2012; and in Washington, DC,
                                                                                                         Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific region,
     (SBL), with 20 member committees covering        United States in 2013. These developments
                                                                                                         Europe and the Middle East in promoting,
     different practice areas established under the   underline the IBA’s continuing aim to remain
                                                                                                         protecting and enforcing human rights under
     SBL by the following year.                       the global voice of the legal profession.
                                                                                                         a just rule of law. (See p 31.)

     Further sections and committees were created     Over the past decade the Association’s
     in subsequent years and by the end of 2004,      membership has broadened in focus to
     when the SBL was reorganised into the Legal      include younger lawyers and associates and,
     Practice Division (LPD), there were around       since 2010, law students with an interest in
     60 committees and fora covering all areas of     international and cross-border legal issues,
     legal practice. (See p 20.)                      in an ongoing effort to foster relationships
                                                      and facilitate the exchange of information
     The Public and Professional Interest Division    between more experienced practitioners and
     (PPID) was established in 2005, focusing         the legal minds of the future.
     on key issues that may affect lawyers

12
Clockwise from top: Volume I, Issue I of
International Bar News, September 1947
(now IBA Global Insight); banquet to mark
the first Conference of the IBA, New York,
21 October 1947; portrait of George Seward,
Honorary Life President of the IBA and
Founder of the Business Law Section of the
Association in 1970.

                                              13
MEMBERSHIP

           Where do IBA members come from?
              1–100
              101–500
              501–1,000
              1,001+

         IBA at a glance

         80,000+                individual members
                                                                                         188        member
                                                                                                    organisations

                        Established in New York                                          171        countries
                        in 1947, the IBA is the
                        world’s leading association
                        of international legal                                           220+             group
                                                                                                          membership firms
                        practitioners, bar associations

                                                                                         59,000+
                        and law societies                                                                        webinar registrants
                                                                                                                 in 2020

         IBA milestones and members worldwide
                              961 patrons/subscribers      IBA office moves
               Established       and 43 member              from New York                 Membership
              in New York          organisations               to London                 reaches 18,000

                1947                 1961                     1969                         1998                                   2005
                                                                                                                             Latin America office
                                                                                                                              opens (São Paulo)
                                                                                                                              IBA-ICC Outreach
                                                                                                                             Programme office
                                                                                                                             opens (The Hague)
                                                                                                                             Group Membership
                                                                                                                               Scheme launch
     2020               2018            2017              2016            2015                2013              2012
    First Virtual         Group         70 years         Membership       eyeWitness       North America    Asia office
 Annual Conference     membership      of the IBA       reaches 80,000   to Atrocities      office opens   opens (Seoul)
  with over 13,000      passes 200                                          launch        (Washington, DC)
     delegates            firms

14
IBA membership

Nearly 70 per cent
of international IBA
members come from                                                                    0.2% retired
private practices
                                                                                     0.3% qualified non-practitioner
                                                                                     1.2% barrister
                                                                                     23.3% unknown
                                                 Individual                          0.5% public
                                                membership                           1.2% solicitor
                                               by lawyer type                        3.4% corporate counsel
                                                                                     0.7% academic

                                                                                     0.2% judge/justice
                                                                                     69% private practitioner

What membership offers

                                   80,000+                                          World-class conferences
                                                                                    and webinars:
                                                                                    access to top-level professional
                                  International lawyers:
                                                                                    development every year
                                       a unique global
                             networking opportunity
                       with access to the world’s largest
                            international legal network

                        Build your profile
                        Make contacts through practice          70+
                        committee membership, speaking
                                                                Membership committees:
                        to and building connections with
                                                                access to expertise development
                        your peers worldwide and being
                                                                spanning every area of law
                        part of the IBA online network

             Access to practice                                                   Business development
             Relevant legal resources – articles                                  Opportunities through networking with
             and committee updates from leading                                   the world’s leading business lawyers
             practitioners worldwide available to
             members only

                                                                                                                          15
What your membership means to your firm

                                                            Time efficient
                           Referral network                 The IBA brings professional
                           The IBA is the biggest           contacts to you in one
                           international referral           place – 2,700 international
                           network in the legal world       organisations and law
                                                            firms at the IBA Annual
                                                            Conference

                           Risk awareness                   Cost saving
                           Business intelligence on         Discounted delegate fee
                           issues allowing you to           for IBA members at all IBA
                           pre-empt their impact            conferences worldwide,
                           and to exploit the               including the IBA Annual
                           opportunities they present       Conference

                                                            Local knowledge
                           Global reach                     and contacts
                           Conferences held in              Participation in regional
                           locations worldwide              forums – what’s
                           attract an international         happening in regions
                           audience                         where your firm’s clients
                                                            have interests

     Free resources
     The latest information on

                                                        @
     legal developments in your
     chosen committee practice
     areas as part of membership

16
‘
What IBA members are saying
                                                                          I believe that being a
                                                                         member of the IBA and

                                 ‘
                                                                         having attended the Annual
                                                                         Conferences for many years
                                  Being an IBA member
                                                                         has really helped shape my
                                 has been professional
                                                                         international career. The
                                 life-changing opportunity
                                                                         IBA has certainly made a

‘
                                 for our firm. We’ve met so
                                                                         difference for me in terms
                                 many people and learned
 The IBA is a friendly                                                   of getting to know a lot
                                 so much about the legal
network that provides you                                                of colleagues around the
                                 industry and different
with great personal support.                                             world, and after so many
                                 practice areas of the law.
It can help you meet people                                              years, making some real
                                 We’ve also gained insight
who you can rely on in terms                                             friends. I’ve been able to
                                 about the future of the legal
of your day-to-day work, but                                             interact with jurisdictions
                                 profession, how to manage
it also offers a tremendous                                              that have expertise in
                                 a law firm, the trends and
opportunity to meet people                                               natural resources and I
                                 hot topics in a range of
from all over the world. The                                             really think that has made a
                                 different legal areas, and
IBA helps remind you of the                                              difference for me.’
                                 the experiences of the best
importance of the rule                                                                   Florencia Heredia
                                 law firms in the world.
of law and why you                                                               Allende & Bre, Buenos Aires
                                                 David Gutierrez
became a lawyer.                                      BLP, Madrid
                Jessica Roland
              Mourant, Guernse

IBA Annual Conferences
                                                           Chicago 2006               Attracting over 6,000
                                                           Singapore 2007             attendees from 2,700
                                                                                      organisations and
                                                           Buenos Aires 2008
                                                                                      law firms around
                                                           Madrid 2009                the world
                                                           Vancouver 2010
                                                                                      Over 200 working
                                                           Dubai 2011
                                                                                      sessions covering all
                                                           Dublin 2012                areas of practice
                                                           Boston 2013
                                                                                      Up to 25 CPD/CLE
                                                           Tokyo 2014
                                                                                      points
                                                           Vienna 2015
                                                           Washington, DC 2016        A variety of social
                                                                                      functions providing
                                                           Sydney 2017
                                                                                      opportunities to
                                                           Rome 2018                  network and see
                                                           Seoul 2019                 the host city’s
                                                           Virtually Together 2020    famous sights

                                                           Paris 2021
                                                           Miami 2022
                                                                                                               17
IBA Council meeting, IBA Annual Conference, Vienna
     IBA STRUCTURE
     IBA Divisions                                       proposes, debates and passes resolutions;          Management Board
                                                         and receives reports from all IBA Divisions.
     The IBA membership committees are grouped           When the Council meets, it aims to provide an      Although the IBA Council is the governing body
     in two divisions: the Legal Practice Division       international platform to give a fair hearing to   of the IBA, it delegates the day-to-day running
     (LPD) and the Public and Professional Interest      all points of view from its members. Through       of the Association to the IBA Management
     Division (PPID). The LPD covers all areas of        the IBA, all member organisations can find a       Board. The Management Board is comprised
     legal practice in practice area committees.         voice on this international stage.                 of the President, Vice-President,
     The PPID comprises of committees focusing                                                              Secretary-General and senior leadership of each
                                                         The Council’s membership comprises up to
     on matters relevant to all lawyers, regardless                                                         division. They meet at least three times a year
                                                         two representatives (IBA Councillors) of each
     of practice specialisation and includes the Bar                                                        and are concerned with administrative and
                                                         member organisation, the present IBA Officers
     Issues Commission (BIC), the IBA’s Human                                                               managerial matters, whereas matters of policy
                                                         and immediate past president, the senior
     Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and the Section on                                                           are raised for the attention of the Council.
                                                         Officers of each division and their immediate
     Public and Professional Interest (SPPI).
                                                         past chairs, the Deputy Secretary-Generals, the
                                                         Chairs of IBA Standing Committees and the
                                                         Honorary Life Members of the Association.
     IBA Council
                                                         The Council meets twice each year: once during
     The IBA Council is the governing body of the        the IBA Mid-Year Meetings, held in May, and
     IBA. It elects the IBA President, Vice-President,   again during the IBA Annual Conference, held
     Secretary-General and the BIC Officers; it          in September/October of each year.

18
Legal Practice Division sections, committees and fora
African Regional Forum                        Criminal Law Committee                        International Trade and Customs Law
Agricultural Law Section                      Diversity and Equality Law Committee          Committee
Anti-Corruption Committee                     Employment and Industrial Relations Law       Latin American Regional Forum
Antitrust Section                             Committee                                     Leisure Industries Section
Arab Regional Forum                           Environment, Health and Safety Law            Litigation Committee
Arbitration Committee                         Committee                                     Maritime and Transport Law Committee
Art, Cultural Institutions and Heritage Law   European Regional Forum                       Media Law Committee
Committee                                     Family Law Committee                          Mediation Committee
Asia Pacific Regional Forum                   IBA Global Employment Institute               Mining Law Committee
Asset Management and Investment Funds         Healthcare and Life Sciences Law Committee    Negligence and Damages Committee
Committee                                     Immigration and Nationality Law Committee     North American Regional Forum
Aviation Law Committee                        Indigenous Peoples Committee                  Oil and Gas Law Committee
Banking Law Committee                         Insolvency Section                            Power Law Committee
Business Crime Committee                      Insurance Committee                           Private Client Tax Committee
Business Human Rights Committee               Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law   Product Law and Advertising Committee
Capital Markets Forum                         Committee                                     Public Law Section
Closely Held and Growing Business             International Commerce and Distribution       Real Estate Section
Enterprises Committee                         Committee
                                                                                            Securities Law Committee
Communications Law Committee                  International Construction Projects
                                                                                            Space Law Committee
Consumer Litigation Committee                 Committee
                                                                                            Taxes Committee
Corporate and M&A Law Committee               International Franchising Committee
                                                                                            Technology Law Committee
Corporate Counsel Forum                                                                     Water Law Committee

Public and Professional                       IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)         Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and
                                                                                            Intersex (LGBTI) Law Committee
Interest Division                             Section on Public and Professional
                                                                                            Poverty and Social Development Committee
                                              Interest (SPPI)
committees and other                          Academic and Professional Development
                                                                                            Pro Bono Committee
entities                                      Committee                                     Professional Ethics Committee
                                              Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee     Regulation of Lawyers’ Compliance
Bar Issues Commission (BIC)
                                                                                            Committee
Bar Executives Committee                      Alternative and New Law Business Structures
                                              Committee                                     Rule of Law Forum
BIC International Trade in Legal Services
                                              Forum for Barristers and Advocates            Senior Lawyers’ Committee
Committee
                                              Human Rights Law Committee                    War Crimes Committee
BIC Regulation Committee
                                              Judges’ Forum                                 Women Lawyers’ Interest Group
BIC Policy Committee
                                              Law Firm Management Committee                 Young Lawyers’ Committee

                                                                                                                                       19
LEGAL PRACTICE DIVISION
     T     he IBA Legal Practice Division (LPD) covers
           all practice areas of law. The objectives of
           the LPD are to:
                                                             The guidelines can be downloaded from the
                                                             Committee website at www.ibanet.org/
                                                             LPD/Corporate_Law_Section/Corporate_
                                                                                                              LPD committees partner with
                                                                                                              UNIDROIT to harmonise global
     •   promote an interchange of information and           MA_Law_Committee/Default.aspx.                   contract law
         views among its members as to laws, practices
         and professional responsibilities relating to the                                                    A number of LPD committees are
                                                             The future of work                               collaborating with the International Institute
         practice of law throughout the world;
     •   facilitate communication among its members;                                                          for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)
                                                             The IBA’s Global Employment Institute
     •   provide the opportunity to all its members                                                           to enhance its Principles of International
                                                             (IBA GEI) was formed in early 2010 for the
         to be active in the LPD through its                                                                  Commercial Contracts.
                                                             purpose of developing a global and strategic
         sections, committees, fora and other                approach to the main legal issues in the         First published in 1994, the UNIDROIT
         groupings; and                                      human resources and human capital fields for     Principles have influenced contract law
     •   undertake such related projects as may              multinationals and worldwide institutions.       reform worldwide and are increasingly used
         be approved from time to time by the
                                                                                                              as an authoritative reference in international
         LPD’s council.                                      The Institute is fast becoming the leading
                                                                                                              commercial arbitration and contract practice.
                                                             voice and authority on global HR issues by
                                                             virtue of having a number of the world’s         An IBA working group has been set up,
     Selected highlights from                                leading labour and employment practitioners      in consultation with relevant committees,
     the LPD                                                 in its ranks, and the support and resources      comprising about 50 specialist lawyers,
                                                             of the world’s largest association of            judges and academics from 30 countries,
                                                             international lawyers.                           to consider how the Principles can be made
     The LPD continues to enhance the IBA’s
     global offering through a number of projects                                                             more user-friendly and business-focussed for
                                                             Strengthening its relationship with the
     initiated by the committees and/or by                                                                    legal practitioners.
                                                             International Labour Organization, in
     contributing to the impressive work of the
                                                             2019 the IBA GEI recently formalised an          The group has compiled summaries of about
     IBA Legal Policy and Research Unit.
                                                             agreement between the two organisations to       300 court and arbitration cases where the
                                                             collaborate and contribute to the debate on      Principles have been applied or have been
     The following projects are being developed
                                                             ‘The Future of Work’ from a multidisciplinary    used for the interpretation of national and
     under the leadership of the LPD:
                                                             legal perspective. Globalisation, climate        international law, as an aid for practitioners.
                                                             change, demography and, in particular,           It’s also prepared a series of country reports
     IBA Corporate and M&A Law                               the continuous and disruptive process of         on the application of the Principles.
     Committee Legal Due Diligence                           automation and digitalisation are big drivers
     Guidelines                                              for changes that directly affect the future of   A working document was produced and
                                                             work. The joint report can be accessed here.     submitted to the UNIDROIT Governing
     The IBA Corporate & M&A Law Committee,                                                                   Council and there are plans to produce a
                                                             Drawing on the wealth and resources of           hardcopy publication by the American Law
     with contributions from a significant number
                                                             the IBA membership, the IBA GEI’s skilled,       Institute in 2021. The project has helped
     of IBA committees across various areas of
                                                             dedicated and experienced members provide        ensure international legal and business
     practice, has published a set of guidelines for
                                                             a unique employment, discrimination and          communities obtain a wider knowledge and
     conducting legal due diligence investigations
                                                             immigration law contribution to private and      understanding of the Principles. A link to the
     in the context of M&A transactions.
                                                             public organisations throughout the world on     report can be found at www.ibanet.org/
     The objective of these guidelines is to                 a diverse range of global issues.                Publications/Perspectives-in-Practice-of-
     provide useful information on topics that                                                                the-UNIDROIT-Principles-2016.aspx.
                                                             The reports of the IBA GEI can be downloaded
     are relevant in M&A legal due diligence, as
                                                             from the IBA GEI website at www.ibanet.
     well as practical guidance for conducting                                                                LPD Task Force on Government
                                                             org/LPD/Human_Resources_Section/
     well-organised due diligence processes. In
                                                             Global_Employment_Institute/Global_              Access to IT Systems
     this regard, the guidelines are intended to
                                                             Employment_Institute_Home.aspx.
     serve as an overview and baseline to legal
                                                                                                              The LPD has set up the Task Force on
     practitioners around the world, promoting a
                                                                                                              Government Access to IT Systems, consisting
     broader comprehension of what would be
                                                                                                              of members from various committees of the
     expected by clients and, therefore, helping
                                                                                                              IBA Intellectual Property, Communications
     to improve the quality of due diligence
                                                                                                              and Technology Law Section, to draw up a
     investigations.

20
Delegates at IBA Annual Conference, Seoul

set of working principles that aim to set a       The Guide also provides an overview of the         Specialist conferences
framework to reconcile the different rights       data protection landscape in Africa, a checklist
and interests involved in governments gaining     for assessment of data protection compliance       The committees and fora of the LPD are
access to data.                                   by legal practitioners,                            involved in over 80 conferences/events on an
                                                  privacy-by-design mechanisms, a                    annual basis, with new events and training
The final report was published on the IBA         step-by-step guide to the implementation           being added to the calendar each year. Some
website in September 2020 and can be found        of data protection principles and data             of the larger conferences that are held annually
here at www.ibanet.org/LPD/Government-            classification methods for privacy management      are the IBA Annual Mergers and Acquisitions
Access-to-IT-Systems.aspx.                        of a legal practice.                               Conference and the European Corporate
                                                                                                     and M&A Conference – both are presented
Doing Business in Asia Pacific                    The report is now in production and will be        by the Corporate and M&A Committee
                                                  published very shortly.                            and are supported by the relevant regional
In 2020, the Asia Pacific Regional Forum                                                             forum. The Biennial Latin American Regional
published a comprehensive, innovative guide       Training                                           Conference, Annual Financial Law Conference,
to doing business in the Asia Pacific, covering                                                      Annual Arbitration Day, Annual Competition
11 jurisdictions. The guide focuses on the        All LPD committees regularly contribute to         Conference and Annual International
common pitfalls and cultural differences          the IBA’s Training Programme, organised and        Conference on Private Investment Funds are
of doing business throughout the region.          run by the IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee            just a few of the successful conferences that are
This is the first edition (2020) of a project     and designed to assist young and newly             presented and supported by the LPD.
that the Forum intends to update every two        qualified lawyers in their understanding of the
                                                                                                     In 2020, due to the pandemic, the IBA moved
years and can be accessed at www.ibanet.          fundamentals of international legal practice.
                                                                                                     all of its events to online platforms and staged
org/Regional_Fora/Regional_Fora/Asia_             The LPD also contributes to more specialised
                                                                                                     over 130 webinars and virtual conferences.
Pacific_Forum/Doing-business.aspx.                training programmes such as the Antitrust
                                                                                                     Many of the topics were presented by LPD
                                                  Committee’s ‘Advocacy for Regulators’
This guide is an important tool for both                                                             Committees.
                                                  training workshops, which provide advocacy
investors and the legal profession when           and training for anti-trust authorities and        Many committees produce updates
approaching certain critical aspects in Asia      anti-trust lawyers in developing countries in      featuring timely, relevant articles and news
Pacific jurisdictions.                            the area of anti-trust enforcement principles,     on developments in their specific areas of
                                                  and also working in partnership with other         practice. Many of the LPD committees are also
Data Protection Privacy Guide for                 organisations such as PRIME Finance, offering      working to make their committee webpages
                                                  training to judges in the area of complex          more interactive and a greater source of
Lawyers in Africa
                                                  financial transactions.                            information for their members. (See p 46
                                                                                                     for more information about IBA publications
The Guide addresses privacy/data protection       These are just a few examples of the work the      and media content). The IBA website now
planning, functionality and management            LPD committees have been engaging in. The          hosts more digital content than it ever has
of a legal practice in Africa. The guide will     majority of committees have also been involved     before and throughout 2020, as a response
provide lawyers in Africa with sustainable,       in planning and holding IBA conferences            to the impossibility of the IBA hosting in-
practical and easy to implement data              of specific interest to their members and          person conferences, the LPD committees
protection controls/protocols. It has been        participating in the IBA Annual Conference.        undertook an impressively wide range of
developed drawing from the basic principles       LPD committees are involved in a diverse range     webinars, bringing together leading experts
contained in the various laws and frameworks      of sessions at the Annual Conference, in both      in their fields from around the world. The
on the Continent of Africa as well as global      leading and supporting roles.                      films of these events are available to view on
trends such as the General Data Protection
                                                                                                     the IBA website. This strand of content has
Regulations (GDPR) of Europe and other
                                                                                                     proven enormously popular and will continue
associated international best practices.
                                                                                                     throughout 2021.

                                                                                                                                                         21
REGIONAL FORA
     I BA regional fora represent the interests of
       members practising in, or with links to, a
     particular region. They provide networking
                                                      of interest is the continuing economic
                                                      importance of the region, including
                                                      reconstruction and investment projects
                                                                                                        The Latin American Regional Forum
                                                                                                        provides a focus for all IBA activities in the
                                                                                                        region The Latin American Regional Forum
     opportunities, organise conferences or           following peace initiatives.                      is very active in supporting and developing
     sessions at conferences and produce                                                                the profile and membership of the IBA in the
     publications with regional relevance. They       The Asia Pacific Regional Forum works             region and seeking to facilitate networking
     focus on enhancing the objectives of the         closely with IBA committees by supporting         and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
     IBA in their respective regions through          them in presenting their conferences
     co-operation and support for bars. They assist   within the Asia Pacific region. Committees        The aims of the North American Regional
     with the building of the membership, profile     that have presented conferences in                Forum are to spread knowledge about
     and influence of the IBA within their region.    the region include: the Corporate and             legal practice within North America; expand
     There are six regional fora, which between       M&A Committee, the Private Equity                 the international perspective of lawyers
     them cover the globe.                            Subcommittee, the Law Firm Management             practising in North America; give North
                                                      Committee and the Arbitration Committee.          American practitioners access to the IBA’s
                                                      The Asia Pacific Regional Forum has been          extensive network of specialist members
     Recent highlights                                working with the Public and Professional          around the world; and give the world a
                                                      Interest Division in providing training days to   unique way to network with North
     The African Regional Forum provides              assist young lawyers and junior members of        American lawyers.
     support for bar associations in developing       the profession with their understanding
     countries and development of laws and            of the fundamentals of international
     exchange of information. The African             legal practice.
     Regional Forum works closely with other
                                                      The European Regional Forum continues
     committees of the IBA in bringing their
                                                      to develop and strengthen the existence
     conferences to Africa and has recently
                                                      of the IBA within Europe by disseminating
     worked with the Litigation Committee,
                                                      professional know-how and assisting
     the North American Regional Forum,
                                                      committees and other constituencies of
     the Environment, Health and Safety Law
                                                      the IBA. The goals of the Forum include
     Committee, and the Corporate and
                                                      addressing current and long-term needs of
     M&A Committee.
                                                      professional organisations and individual
     The Arab Regional Forum provides lawyers         members within the geographical reach of
     active in, or with an interest in the region,    the Forum, as well as increasing membership
     with a means to establish contact and            and participation in the IBA and integrating
     exchange information with each other. A          them within the Association. The European
     particular focus of interest is the continuing   Regional Forum supports a number of IBA
     economic importance of the region,               committee conferences annually, covering
     including reconstruction and investment          a wide variety of topics, including private
     projects following peace initiatives.            equity, M&A, corporate governance, global
                                                      insolvency and competition. The Forum also
     The Forum continues to support IBA               presents events such as the European Start
     conferences on Islamic and international         Up Conference, Balkan Legal Forum and the
     law, among other topics. A particular focus      Mediterranean Conference.

22
African Regional Forum       Arab Regional Forum       Asia Pacific Regional Forum     European Regional Forum  
Latin American Regional Forum       North American Regional Forum

                                                                                                  From left: Delegates at the IBA Annual
                                                                                                  Conference, Seoul, 2019; Elif Goksen,
                                                                                                  IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer Award
                                                                                                  winner 2019; Delegates at the IBA Annual
                                                                                                  Conference, Seoul, 2019

                                                                                                                                             23
Clockwise from left: Neri Colmenares was given the IBA Award for Outstanding Contribution
     by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights at the IBA 2020 – Virtually Together Conference;
     Daye Gang was named winner of the IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for her work,
     dedication and efforts in the emerging field of restorative justice for victims of sexual and
     family violence, as well as her pursuit for accountability of perpetrators of crimes committed
     in North Korea at the IBA 2020 – Virtually Together Conference; and Ishrat Hasan received the
     IBA Pro Bono Award for her dedication to removing barriers to access to justice, specifically
     for the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Bangladesh at the IBA
     2020 – Virtually Together Conference

24
PUBLIC AND PROFESSIONAL
INTEREST DIVISION
T    he IBA Public and Professional Interest
     Division (PPID) includes the Section on
Public and Professional Interest (SPPI), the
                                                  IBA Global Cross Border Legal
                                                  Services Database
                                                                                                   by the continuing legislative criminalisation
                                                                                                   in a number of Caribbean jurisdictions
                                                                                                   involving consenting same-sex behaviours.
Bar Issues Commission (BIC) and the IBA’s                                                          With support of the PPID Activity Fund, the
                                                  The BIC International Trade in Legal Services
Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), providing a                                                       goal of the research is that a final report
                                                  Committee, with the support of the PPID
wide array of projects, activities, committees                                                     should determine whether there is ongoing
                                                  Activity Fund, extended the IBA Cross Border
and other entities focusing on issues and                                                          harm to LGBTI persons in these jurisdictions
                                                  Legal Services Database to include a further
professional interests that make the practice                                                      as a result of the failure to decriminalise,
                                                  61 developing or emerging countries that
of law a profession and not solely an                                                              which may then, if appropriate, be brought
                                                  were not previously covered, bringing the
occupation.                                                                                        to the attention of the Inter-American
                                                  total of countries covered in the database
                                                                                                   Court of Human Rights (the ‘Court’) for
The objectives of the PPID are to:                to 146. The second phase of this project
                                                                                                   an advisory opinion. Although a judgment
                                                  focussed on the emergence of regional
                                                                                                   of the Court may not be legally binding
• promote an interchange of information           trade agreements and gathered additional
                                                                                                   on the Organization of American States
  and views among member organisations            information about regulation around digital
                                                                                                   (OAS) member states, in the past, individual
  of the IBA and its individual members           trade and restrictions on data traffic, which
                                                                                                   member states have effected change when
  about the public and professional interest      has fed into work by the committee on
                                                                                                   required by advisory judgments of the Court.
  activities of the legal profession throughout   digital legal services. Data storage and flows
                                                                                                   The purpose of the research is to facilitate
  the world;                                      are significant for lawyers and whilst privacy
                                                                                                   such an eventuality. This report is due for
• support and promote those activities,           and security concerns are highly pertinent,
                                                                                                   publication spring 2021.
  the rule of law and the defence of              impediments to the free flow of data will
  human rights;                                   increasingly affect lawyers’ ability to work
                                                  collaboratively across borders.                  Inspiring a new generation of
• facilitate communication among member
                                                                                                   human rights lawyers
  organisations and its members;                  www.ibanet.org/PPID/Constituent/Bar_
• provide the opportunity to member               Issues_Commission/BIC_ITILS_Map.aspx.
                                                                                                   The IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
  organisations and all members to be active                                                       has carried out a number of projects aimed
  in the division through its BIC, committees,    Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,                          at enthusing a new generation of human
  fora and other groupings; and
                                                  Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI)                 rights lawyers in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan
• undertake related and relevant projects                                                          with assistance of the PPID Activity Fund. In
                                                  Law Committee project: respect
  through its entities.                                                                            2019 The IBAHRI embarked on a new project
                                                  for sexual orientation in the                    to contribute to human rights protection
                                                  Caribbean – criminalisation of                   in Zambia, by enthusing a new generation
PPID Activity Fund                                sexual relations between persons                 of young Zambian lawyers to engage in
                                                                                                   human rights, be human rights-aware, and
                                                  of the same-sex                                  pursue careers in human rights practice,
Annually, the PPID provides financial
assistance for the launch of projects and                                                          including at the domestic, regional (SADC)
                                                  The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and
activities that promote public interest and                                                        and international level (with the UN). The
                                                  Intersex (LGBTI) Law Committee has been
professionalism, and raise the stature and                                                         project is on-going and in 2021 the IBAHRI
                                                  working with the Inter-American Institute
visibility of both the PPID and the IBA. To                                                        plan to develop a series of five webinars
                                                  of Human Rights and the United Nations
date, over £1,160,000 has been awarded to                                                          aimed to build awareness and support the
                                                  Latin American Institute for the Prevention
various projects, including:                                                                       development of young lawyers in Africa on a
                                                  of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders
                                                                                                   broad spectrum of human rights issues.
                                                  (ILANUD) on a research project to determine,
                                                  inter alia, the ongoing harm that is caused

                                                                                                                                                   25
SECTION ON PUBLIC AND
     PROFESSIONAL INTEREST
     Selected highlights                              Challenges of access to justice                     Women in law

                                                      The IBA’s Access to Justice and Legal Aid           The Women Lawyers’ Interest Group offers
     The future in legal services                     Committee worked on a global study in               a forum for women lawyers across the
                                                      partnership with the World Bank, aimed              globe, and as part of its mandate, biennially
     Together with the Law Schools Global             to demonstrate the economic benefits of             brings together some of the world’s leading
     League (LSGL), the IBA’s Future of Legal         legal aid services. The project provides the        practitioners to participate in sessions on
     Services Commission is currently in the final    empirical foundation to demonstrate that            recent legal topics, offering attendees
     stages of an ambitious research to study         legal aid services offer net economic benefits      an excellent opportunity to network and
     the trends that are shaping the future of        to governments that invest in them. The             exchange experiences. In 2018, the group
     legal services, with a particular focus on the   global study offers a key advocacy tool             commenced a project together with
     impacts of globalisation and technological       that the IBA and its partnering national bar        LexisNexis and the Law Society of England
     disruption. This project has analysed what       associations and civil society organisations        and Wales titled ‘International Women and
     those drivers mean for legal education           can use to encourage governments to                 the Law Programme’. It address matters
     globally. The overarching objective of this      budget adequately for legal aid programmes.         relevant to gender rights and gender equality
     research project is to produce a ‘blueprint’     The study was launched at the IBA Annual            internationally, looking to achieve the
     that aims at inspiring the necessary reform      Conference in Seoul 2019 and the report             promotion and support for gender equality,
     of legal education at global level to respond    can be downloaded from the IBA website.             striving to level the playing field for women
     to the challenges of the legal professions.      www.ibanet.org/PPID/Constituent/                    and, in particular, female lawyers, judges and
     The blueprint starts by outlining a range of     AccesstoJustice_LegalAid/Projects.aspx.             prosecutors. Activities such as exchanges,
     key challenges facing law schools, ranked                                                            capacity-building training and research also
     by importance and categorised by region,                                                             help to strengthen the solidarity linkages
     and is currently being updated to include
                                                      Training for young lawyers
                                                                                                          between female lawyers in the UK with their
     the Covid-19 crisis. The report is due to be                                                         fellow lawyers in foreign jurisdictions.
                                                      Providing the future generations of lawyers
     published early 2021.
                                                      access to content, education and a global
                                                      networking is of high importance to the IBA.        Online content
     Rule of law                                      Annually, the Young Lawyers’ Committee
                                                      organises a series of highly interactive training   The SPPI and its committees are committed
     The IBA’s focus on the rule of law has become    events designed to assist young and newly           to providing a wide range of online content
     more critical than ever. The IBA’s Rule of Law   qualified lawyers in their understanding of the     to the global legal community. Central to this
     Forum aims to provide relevant content and       fundamentals of international legal business        are a number of webinars organised over the
     information, and has put together three          practice. The courses provide exposure to           past years, looking at various aspects of law
     excellent videos published online, following     international legal business practice, which,       firm management, professional ethics in the
     on to the Rule of Law Symposium in Seoul.        in light of the climate of globalisation, is        legal profession, diversity and equality, pro
     This is part of the IBA’s commitment to make     becoming increasingly important for the next        bono work, human rights issues, rule of law,
     resources available online, such as podcasts,    generation of the profession. The committee         and leadership. www.ibanet.org/webinars.
     videos and webinar recordings. Annually,         works closely with the local bar associations       aspx.
     a big Rule of Law Symposium is being             for these training courses, and recent events
     held, looking at the rule of law in different    have taken place in Boston, Tokyo, Vienna,
     jurisdictions and within current political
                                                                                                          Awards
                                                      Sydney, Madrid, Abuja, Jakarta, Santo
     and socio-economical contexts. All content       Domingo, Rome and Seoul. www.ibanet.                The Section on Public and Professional
     is available at www.ibanet.org/PPID/             org/Education_and_Internships/PPID_                 Interest (SPPI) continues to recognise
     Constituent/Rule_of_Law_Forum/Default.           Training_Course_Programme.aspx.                     outstanding achievements among young
     aspx.
                                                                                                          lawyers, women lawyers, as well as lawyers
                                                                                                          in the field of pro bono and in human rights,
                                                                                                          thanks to the support of LexisNexis and their
                                                                                                          on-going sponsorship of the awards. The very
                                                                                                          first virtual award ceremony launched during
                                                                                                          the IBA 2020 – Virtually Together Conference
                                                                                                          and can be viewed online. www.ibanet.org/
                                                                                                          VirtuallyTogether-films.aspx.

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