Protecting and advancing the rule of law is central to what the International Bar Association is about. It’s what the IBA was established for in 1947, shortly after the founding of the United Nations. As the Association’s flagship publication, Global Insight plays its part by shining a light on challenges to the rule of law where they arise, from Africa and America to Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Over the years, Global Insight has consistently covered the most pressing issues: conflicts, climate, financial and migration crises, corruption, the impact and implications of technology, populism and so on, not simply describing the challenges and threats but suggesting innovative ways forward with input from leading experts within the membership and beyond.

Our cover feature, 'Out of the shadows', focuses on Wagner Group, influential in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but also in many other conflicts around the world. Despite the death of key figure Yevgeny Prigozhin, their activity remains widespread, and holding the group's operatives to account has been difficult. Efforts to do so have seen the group designated a 'transnational criminal organization' by the US, and a terrorist group by the UK, Estonia and Lithuania, while the EU has done neither, opting instead to impose sanctions. Meanwhile, in his column for this edition of the magazine, 'Of jailers and torturers', Ukraine's Prosecutor General highlights the need to address the issue of Russia's illegal detention of Ukrainian civilians.

The IBA not only aims to protect the rule of law but to be at the leading edge by shaping and advancing it. Our feature ‘From soft law to the hard edge of business’ covers an area where this long-term approach has been paying dividends. The work of John Ruggie, appointed by Kofi Annan to drive the business and human rights agenda, has informed an important element of the IBA’s work over the past decade or so. Increasingly, there’s a healthy realisation that the ethics of today shape the law of the future, giving lawyers an ever more important role in influencing not only the business success of their clients, but also the impact of those businesses on the world around them. John Sherman was one of the original team supporting Ruggie in drafting the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights between 2008 and 2011. As Sherman, a former Co-Chair of the IBA Business Human Rights Committee, says, ‘what’s considered merely unethical today, may well be unlawful tomorrow’.

The challenges facing the world, and the opportunities presented now in 2023, nearly eight decades after the IBA was founded, have made the Association’s role more relevant than ever. We aim to reflect this in the pages of each edition of Global Insight. We hope you enjoy this one.