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©The Straits Times, Singapore (Used by permission)
by K.C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent

LEGAL practitioners from around the world will meet here from Sunday to discuss a raft of legal issues at the annual conference of the International Bar Association (IBA).

Billed as the largest law conference in Asia, more than 3,500 delegates are expected, including about 600 from the Asean region, said the association.

The six-day meeting at Suntec City is remarkable for the list of issues tabled for discussion at more than 150 scheduled sessions, as well as for its key speakers.

Current issues in law, stemming from technology, intellectual property and cultural differences across legislatures will be among the buffet spread of topics, which will range from anti-money laundering to workplace discrimination.

The last day of the meeting will feature a session devoted to the issue of the rule of law, and is expected to see lively debate - including the views of foreign lawyers initially cool to Singapore being picked to host the conference.

Among the foreign luminaries speaking at various sessions are Judge Hisashi Owada from the International Court of Justice, Lord Peter Goldsmith, who was the United Kingdom's Attorney-General until July, and High Court Justice Michael Kirby from Australia.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew will deliver the keynote address at Sunday's opening ceremony. Other Singapore speakers include Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar and Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin.

Delegates hail from at least 120 of the 195 countries whose law associations are IBA members. This is four times the number of countries represented at last year's meeting in Chicago.

IBA president Fernando Pombo, describing this year's attendance as 'inspiring', said: 'Such a diverse representation of nations is very favourable for the exchange of experiences and opinions, which is a hallmark of the IBA.'

The selection of the Singapore Law Society as conference host was the result of a successful pitch by senior lawyer Arul Chandran on the society's behalf, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.

'It is in keeping with the Law Society's decision to plug into the global law network and enhance Singapore's position as a regional legal hub,' said Mr Arul, who has represented the Singapore legal group on the IBA governing council for more than 15 years.

Observers expect the event to raise the profile of the profession, by playing the role of middleman in legal dealings between East and West, North and South as well as with China and India.

Aside from doing some serious networking, lawyers will discuss current issues that have arisen because of globalisation, technology and the harmonisation of laws from different jurisdictions.

For example, are lawyers aware and able to deal with cultural differences in a global economy?

This is seen as a concern by the IBA as more lawyers work on transactions involving many jurisdictions, and have to cope with different legal systems in a globalised workplace.

Chief Justice Chan is among those who will speak on the issue.

Justice Annabelle Bennett from the Australian Federal Court will chair a session on best practices in intellectual property litigation on a panel that includes Justice Lee Sieu Kin and National University of Singapore law dean Tan Cheng Han.

Intellectual property issues, such as the illegal downloading of music from cyberspace, and how judgments in this area are to be enforced are expected to draw keen interest.

Similarly, arbitration matters could gain prominence, in the light of the slew of free trade agreements signed and the impact they could have on disputes between individuals and the state.

The session where different transnational regulatory approaches will be discussed will have application for Singapore's pending introduction of casinos as part of the integrated resorts.

These approaches are currently under scrutiny by both the World Trade Organisation and the European Union, said the IBA.

Stamford Law Corporation's Lee Suet Fern and Genting International's Yap Wai Ming, along with experts from Italy, France and other countries, will discuss aspects of the legal and regulatory environment for developing casinos, among other things.

Separate sessions have been tailored for special interest groups like those involved in community court work.

At one of these, Chicago-based lawyer Barbara Blaine, who founded the Survivors' Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) will speak on the effects of childhood sexual abuse on victims in their adult life.

A concluding conference highlight will be Friday's session on the rule of law.

The IBA defines rule-of-law issues by attributes such as independence of the judiciary and the legal profession and the proportionality of punishments to offences, among other things.

This is the first time the IBA is setting aside a full day to address the issue, said spokesman Romana St Matthew-Daniel.

Up for discussion will be the Asian perspective and the Singaporean experience, said the IBA.

Malaysian Bar Council chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan described the inclusion of the topic as 'timely', as the rule of law has come under siege in the region, citing examples like Fiji and Myanmar where executive powers unsupported by the rule of law have surfaced.

The session is also expected to surface concerns raised by some European-based legislators who initially objected to the choice of Singapore as conference host, on rule-of-law grounds.

Among those who objected was Swedish parliamentarian and human-rights activist Birgitta Ohlsson, who, in a publicised letter to the IBA president in February, claimed that 'human rights and the rule of law have come under severe attack by the Singapore Government'.

Singapore will have some legal heavyweights present to put matters in perspective.

DPM Jayakumar, who is also the Law Minister, and Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh are scheduled to speak at the session.

Also speaking are former Nominated Member of Parliament Simon Tay, Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, Judge Hisashi Owada and Justice Albie Sachs from South Africa.

'I expect a lively discussion as the event gives an opportunity to see how outsiders view us and how we present ourselves to them,' said former Law Society president Peter Low, who plans to be there.

Oct 11, 2007
Legal bigwigs to gather in S'pore for Asia's biggest law conference
By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent

LEGAL practitioners from around the world will meet in Singapore from Sunday to discuss a raft of legal issues at the annual conference of the International Bar Association (IBA).

Billed as the largest law conference in Asia, more than 3,500 delegates are expected, including about 600 from the Asean region, said the association.

The six-day meeting at Suntec City will discuss wide-ranging issues at more than 150 scheduled sessions.

The topics will include legal issues stemming from technology, intellectual property and cultural differences to anti-money laundering and workplace discrimination.

Among the foreign luminaries are Judge Hisashi Owada from the International Court of Justice, Lord Peter Goldsmith, who was the United Kingdom's Attorney-General until July, and High Court Justice Michael Kirby from Australia.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew will deliver the keynote address at the opening on Sunday. Other Singapore speakers will include Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar and Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin.

Delegates hail from at least 120 of the 195 countries whose law associations are IBA members. This is four times more than the number represented at last year's meeting in Chicago.

IBA president Fernando Pombo, describing this year's attendance as 'inspiring', said: 'Such a diverse representation of nations is very favourable for the exchange of experiences and opinions, which is a hallmark of the IBA.'

The highlight of the conference will be Friday's session on the rule of law.

This is the first time the IBA is setting aside a full day to address the issue, said spokesman Romana St Matthew-Daniel.

Up for discussion will be the Asian perspective and the Singaporean experience, said the IBA.

The session is also expected to surface concerns raised by some European-based legislators who initially objected to the choice of Singapore as conference host, on rule-of-law grounds.

DPM Jayakumar, who is also the Law Minister, and Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh are scheduled to speak at the session.

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