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BIC sessions at the
Annual Conference 2008, Buenos Aires
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Headline news
IBA assists in set up of first ever Afghan bar association
Voting at the IABA
The establishment of Afghanistan's first ever bar association, the Independent Afghan Bar Association (IABA), came to fruition on Wednesday 30 July at 18.00hrs (Kabul time) at a General Assembly in Kabul attended by more than 400 leaders and lawyers representing all parts of Afghanistan. This was achieved after five years of concerted effort by national and international stakeholders led by the International Bar Association and with the considerable support of the International Legal Assistance Consortium and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Read more
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Message from the BIC Chair
Alejandro Ogarrio
BIC Chair; Ogarrio Daguerre SC
aogarrio@ogarrio.com.mx
Dear BIC members,
I am happy to report that the 3rd Annual Bar Leaders' Conference, organised by the BIC and held in Amsterdam, was well received and the topics selected from the different suggestions made by the bars were extremely interesting.
Read more
Alejandro Ogarrio
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News
The International Criminal Court (ICC) calls for closer dialogue with IBA member bar associations
ICC building, The Hague
As part of the IBA's mid-year meetings in Amsterdam in May, 50 senior bar leaders from around the world conducted a visit to the ICC in The Hague, organised by the IBA's ICC outreach programme. During the visit, the Court called for enhanced dialogue with bar associations across the globe. Read more
Read the IBA's report on ICC procedure
Report from the 3rd Annual Bar Leaders' Conference, May 2008, Amsterdam
From 14-15 May 2008, around 120 participants from 80 countries attended the BIC's Annual Bar Leaders' Conference. Sessions were held on lawyers' privilege, skills transfer in developing jurisdictions, religious and secular laws and the image of ethics in the legal profession, among other topics. Read more
News article
The Scottish paper, The Herald,
published an article in May
relating to the religious and secular laws session and the views of a conference speaker, Canon Gerard Tartaglia, priest of the Catholic Archdiocese in Glasgow and lecturer in canon law at Scotus College, Bearsden, Scotland.
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Beyond Polokwane: safeguarding South Africa's judicial independence
In response to a resolution passed by the ANC at its 52nd national conference in Polokwane in December 2007, the IBA's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) conducted a fact-finding visit to South Africa to investigate the impact of the proposed reforms on South Africa's judicial independence.
The IBAHRI has issued
a detailed report
on the findings of its visit which welcomes assurances from the Minister of Justice that consultation with all stakeholders will occur before any further action is taken.
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Burundi: the media on trial
In July, the IBAHRI welcomed the acquittal of four top Burundi journalists who were tried for offences relating to their reporting of an alleged coup plot. The IBAHRI sent an observer to the trial and subsequent appeal hearing and has released
a report on proceedings.
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Access to international justice through a new judicial and political international order
From Lic Francisco Plancarte y Garcia Naranjo
Ex-President of the Jalisco Chapter of the Mexican Bar Association; Member of the Inter-American Bar Association (Washington, DC)
Currently, because of economic and technological globalisation as well as serious world problems which humanity is facing, the intervention of new supranational organisations is necessary. Within this way of thinking, we propose a solution as follows: Legal basis of the integral review of the 1945 San Fransisco Charter through a general conference of the UN members. Read more
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IBA Council approves IBA Young Lawyers' Committee Guidelines on developing and maintaining young lawyers' organisations
After three years of close collaboration with the American Bar Association Young Lawyers' Division and Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (AIJA), the Guidelines for developing, implementing and maintaining a young lawyers' organisation were given the stamp of approval by the Council of the International Bar Association. Read more
Download the guidelines.
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Resources
Current IBA website resources of interest to BIC members
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IBA pro bono website:
Bringing together international pro bono practitioners
The IBA has developed a new website at
www.internationalprobono.com
, focused on sharing information on current practices in international pro bono legal work among practitioners across the world. The site aims to bring together the global community of professionals of every level who are involved in pro bono legal work on a local and international scale. This initiative has resulted in a remarkably user-friendly and versatile site, with multiple features to maximise communication between site users. Read more about the site
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BIC membership 2008
Member Organisations are required to submit their list of up to five association representatives to be included as members of the BIC free of charge. The first post should be your organisation's President (or equivalent), and you can then nominate two additional BIC members, one of whom can also represent your organisation at the IBA Council Meeting.
You may also nominate one individual to the Public and Professional Interest Division (PPID)'s Professional Ethics Committee and one individual to the Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee.
Please take advantage of these appointments so that you can be represented wherever possible within the BIC and PPID by
downloading the membership form
and returning it to us.
IBA Member Organisation annual membership dues - reminder
If you have not paid your organisation's 2008 membership dues by Thursday 9 October, you will not be permitted to vote at the upcoming IBA Council Meeting to be held in Buenos Aires on 16 October 2008.
If you require a copy of your organisation's invoice to be resent to you, please contact Sibylle Duell at sibylle.duell@int-bar.org.
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Bar news from the regions
EUROPE
European Young Bar Association (EYBA) elects new President
Simona Oliskeviciute was elected President of the European Young Bar Association (EYBA), a multi-national association of young lawyer groups, at their Annual General Meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday 31 May 2008. Read more
NORWAY: Award to dedicated attorneys
The Norwegian attorneys Pål W Lorentzen and Rikke Lassen have been awarded the Espeland Endowment Prize of Honour for 2008. The prize is assigned to people or organisations that provide a significant contribution to promoting the independence of lawyers and the rule of law. Read more
NORTHERN IRELAND: Trainee solicitors crowned world champions
Competition winners Niall Hargan and Conor Houston
Niall Hargan and Conor Houston, two of Belfast's budding young solicitors, have beaten stiff competition from around the globe to triumph at one of the legal world's most prestigious international competitions. Read more
SCOTLAND: Should advocates be allowed to operate in partnerships rather than as 'sole traders'?
As Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, acknowledged in a parliamentary statement recently, Scotland's distinctive legal system has helped the country sustain its national identity for 300 years. Read more
UKRAINE: New Ukrainian Bar Act - still no agreement among lawyers
The first Ukrainian Bar Act (Zakon pro advokatura) was adopted almost 16 years ago. Despite guaranteeing the professional rights of lawyers, the Act did not recognise the bar as a legal entity. The Ukrainian Bar Association is committed to promoting an updated Act which addresses this and other issues. Read more
ASIA
HONG KONG: Law Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) and Czech Bar Association (CBA) enter into Memorandum of Understanding
The two bar association Presidents shake hands
The LSHK and the CBA have entered into an agreement intended to aid collaborations between Czech and Hong Kong lawyers. Bilateral trade between the Czech Republic and China surged 61.9 per cent in 2007. Read more
INDIA: Bar Association visits Seoul
In September 2007, two members of the Bar Association of India (BAI) attended the Seoul Bar Association's 100th anniversary event which had as
its topic 'Social development - the role of lawyers'. Read more
Emergency in Pakistan and detention of lawyers and judges
A special meeting of the BAI was called by Secretary General Lalit Bhasin in November 2007 on Pakistan. The meeting focused on the treatment of lawyers and judges in Pakistan and the suspension of the Constitution was condemned. Read more
JAPAN: Universal Periodic Review of Japan by the United Nations Human Rights Council
The human rights situation in Japan was reviewed by the United Nations in May 2008 with the involvement of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Read more
SINGAPORE: Human rights, democracy and the rule of law
The IBA's Human Rights Institute has released an unprecedented report on the independence of the judiciary in Singapore and the unacceptable limitations imposed on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. Read more
AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA: Resolution on Zimbabwe adopted by International Council of Advocates and Barristers (ICAB)
The South African Bar, along with the other nine members of the ICAB, recently adopted a resolution on the situation in Zimbabwe. Read more
AMERICAS
UNITED STATES: Centennial of American Bar Association's Canons of Professional Ethics
This month, the ABA's Center for Professional Responsibility will commemorate the centenary of the adoption of the first set of model standards of ethical conduct for lawyers nationwide. Read more
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Profile of a bar association
The Malta Chamber of Associates
The Malta Chamber of Advocates represents advocates admitted to the Bar of Malta. It is a voluntary, non-political, non-governmental organisation funded by the fees payable by members and by funds raised by its activities. It is recognised by law as the consultative and participatory representative of advocates in matters relating to the organisation and administration of justice. Read more
Views expressed in this e-bulletin are not necessarily those of the International Bar Association
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