The Malaysian Bar’s International Malaysia Law Conference (“IMLC”) 2026 takes place from 27 to 30 Oct 2026 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur.
By Vanessa Yeong Yen Zan, Ng Choo Beng R Naidu & Partners
The Welcome Address was delivered by Gregory Das, Chairperson of the Bar Council International Malaysia Law Conference 2026 Organising Committee. He traced the origins of IMLC to the Malaysian Law Conference, first held in July 1971 and declared open by the then Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. While past themes had focused largely on future trends shaping the law, he explained that this year’s focus was different, as there had never before been so much change on so many fronts at the same time. This raised the questions of which values should be preserved and which principles should hold the line, and it was this notion that underpinned the theme of the conference.
He identified three manifestations of change that were testing core principles. The first was the seismic effect of technology on the legal system and the profession. The use of artificial intelligence had become normalised, but over-reliance on it was perhaps the central threat to the lawyer’s core values of professional and independent judgment. Similarly, while “digital justice” was increasingly common in courts around the world, no software could ever replace the core decision-making function of a judge. The second was the shift in geopolitical alliances and global trade, with recent events in the Middle East disrupting the supply of commodities, protectionist measures realigning international relations, and the rules-based order and global institutions being tested. The third was the change in societal values and political climate. In Malaysia, the Government had changed hands on four occasions in the last eight years, following a 61-year period of uninterrupted rule by a single coalition. He observed that governments might come and go but the Federal Constitution, which embodies the nation’s founding principles, must hold firm. This was the premise of the basic structure doctrine, which recognises that certain core features of a constitution are beyond alteration and which would be the focus of the Raja Aziz Addruse Memorial Lecture to be delivered that evening by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman.
He noted that, over the next three days, these and other issues would be discussed across a series of special addresses, four plenary sessions and 33 breakout sessions. The speakers would come from Malaysia and 11 other countries, and would include representatives of government, sitting and retired members of the Judiciary, parliamentarians, senior practitioners, academics and regulators. He concluded by thanking the staff of the Malaysian Bar Secretariat, the members of the organising committee and the sponsors for making the conference possible.