SPPI Newsletter: Spring 2026
Babatunde Ajibade
SPPI Chair (2025-2026)
A note from the Chair
A warm welcome to the second edition of the Section on Public and Professional Interest (SPPI) Newsletter. As a reminder, the SPPI Council intends to publish this newsletter bi-annually in spring and autumn of each year. We hope this will be a useful resource for you to keep abreast of activity happening across all of the SPPI committees and fora, and to serve as a tool to keep you connected to the wider work of the SPPI and the IBA.
We are always keen to hear about the activity of our SPPI members. If you have an activity (an event, webinar or publication, for example) that you would like to spotlight for future newsletter issues please send details to SPPI Council Member Victoria Fearne at victoria.fearne@barbri.com.
A major focus of this newsletter is to reflect on the highlights of an excellent 2025 Annual Conference in Toronto and a week of strong representation from the SPPI. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the officers of our many committees for the hard work that went into organising and planning all of the various showcases and sessions as well as the many webinars and events that have already taken place since the conference and so far in 2026.
Many thanks to Victoria Fearne, Paul Paton and Saranya Mishra for their work on this newsletter.
Best wishes,
Babatunde Ajibade
Chair, IBA Section on Public and Professional Interest
SPPI Newsletter
What is the Section on Public and Professional Interest (SPPI)?
The SPPI forms part of the Public and Professional Interest Division of the IBA (the other division being the Legal Practice Division (LPD)), together with the Bar Issues Commission, the IBA Human Rights Institute, the Future of Legal Services Commission and the IBA Professional Wellbeing Commission.
Click below to see a reminder of the SPPI committees and their mission statements.
Highlights from the 2025 Annual Conference
SPPI showcase: Law not war
This session discussed the possible role of lawyers in using law and legal procedures to broker peace talks and bring war crimes to justice, as well as related issues.
Rule of Law Symposium
The rapid emergence of a multipolar world and surging geopolitical conflict are challenging established international laws, norms and principles; entrenching global impunity; and raising existential questions about the future of international law and multilateral institutions in world affairs.
As great power competition – reminiscent of the 19th century – makes a comeback and the US retreats from historic commitments to alliances and multilateralism, tensions escalate in Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. Against this background, the expert panel discussed what the future might hold for international law, international institutions and multilateral cooperation.
The IBA Future of Legal Services Commission presented the Global Heatmap Survey Report 2025
This heatmap identifies the key issues affecting the legal profession and then assesses their likely impact and how ready the profession is to respond to them.
It presents data supplied by respondents from across the profession and our intention is to re-run the survey every year, so that we can track emerging issues and the profession’s response.
SPPI highlights since autumn 2025
- Continued collaboration with Yale University on the Yazidi Genocide Persecution Prevention Project. Phase 2 is now underway, with a post-Phase 1 report released in November 2024.
- Webinar (15 January 2026): supported the IBA War Crimes Committee’s webinar, which was titled ‘The role of civil society in international justice.’
- Webinar (13 February 2026): Ending child marriage – legal obligations and global responses, in collaboration with the IBA’s Human Rights Institute.
- Co-producing a book, Law, Ethics and Armed Conflict: An International Law Reader, to be co-published by the IBA.
- Began planning for a Poverty and Social Development Committee Membership Café, a quarterly virtual forum for members to engage with officers and incubate new ideas.
- Undertaking the review and update of the IBA Pro Bono Declaration (originally adopted in October 2016), calling upon legal professionals to continue pro bono work as an integral part of their professional activities.
- Established a closed LinkedIn group through IBA Divisions for committee members to discuss committee-related business and support each other as colleagues.
- Preparing the 3rd Professional Ethics Symposium (Lisbon, June 2026), working with multiple committees for co-sponsorship.
- Constitution after Coup Webinar Series (19 June, 4 September and 8 October 2025): A successful three-part webinar trilogy, co-hosted with the Judges Forum, the Litigation Committee and the Latin and North American Regional Fora, featuring sessions on Brazil, South Korea and the United States respectively.
- Rule of Law (ROL) Backsliding Project: Survey completed and closed, with over 300 responses. Findings currently being analysed for publication and presentation at an IBA conference in 2026.
- Endangered Lawyers Data Coalition (ELDC): A nonprofit initiative launched in 2024 to protect legal professionals and strengthen the rule of law by building a global database to track threats, harassment and persecution of lawyers working on politically sensitive cases.
- Best Practices for Judicial Appointments: Study underway to produce a report with recommendations on best practice for judicial appointments, based on case studies across a range of jurisdictions.
- Presidential Project – ROL Educational Videos: Re-launching rule of law educational videos aimed at high school students, with the first programme starting in March 2026 in Danish schools, supported by the Danish Bars.
- Judicial Wellbeing Initiative: Planning a webinar on the theme of ‘The foundation for integrity and rule of law starts within,’ a global call for judicial wellbeing in collaboration with the Judges Forum, the Bar Issues Commission and the IBA’s Legal Policy & Research Unit.
- Released a conclusive statement on its committee page: ‘No one is above the law: the IBA War Crimes Committee stands with the ICC and condemns threats to the Court’.
- Webinar (15 January 2026): ‘The role of civil society in international justice,’ supported by the Human Rights Law Committee.
- Holding annual conference in The Hague (18 April 2026).
- Webinar (16 January 2026): Supported a webinar hosted by the Asia Pacific Regional Forum (‘The future of legal services in the Asia Pacific’).
- YLC Next Gen Conference (26 January 2026, Dubai): Held in collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce, with the IBA President as keynote speaker.
- Published a new survey on the IBA website to gather quantitative and qualitative data from young lawyers worldwide to understand their interests, priorities and concerns.
SPPI Council highlights
Bringing the IBA closer to Africa
The SPPI Council held its 2026 retreat in February on the white sands of Diani Beach in Kenya. We were pleased to be joined on the retreat by the IBA President, Claudio Visco. The retreat was preceded by high-level meetings in Nairobi with the President and executives of the Law Society of Kenya LSK and with the Chief Justice of Kenya, Hon Justice Martha Koome (EGH), and Senior Counsel Chacha Odera. It was a great opportunity to share views and exchange ideas regarding the IBA’s aspirations for greater proximity to the legal profession in Africa and the ongoing challenges to the rule of law around the world.
Recent publications and further resources
- The Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee published their newsletter for 2026 (editor: Saranya Mishra), along with a message from the Chair, Paul Paton. In addition, the Committee released a series of articles covering a range of contemporary issues, including the legal architecture of carbon markets (by Roberto Iván Flores Rangel and Ana Diener Moreno), the evolution and regulation of foreign law firms in India (by Pintu Babu), leadership models in law firms (by Óscar Montezuma Panez), the development of business strategy in India (by Veena Goswami) and the emergence of AI-native law firms (by Shreya Vajpei and Saranya Mishra).
- The Human Rights Law Committee published one article, Strategic litigation and gender apartheid in Iran and Afghanistan: remarks from IBA Human Rights Law Committee Panel (Mexico City, 2024) (by Shiva Amiri), which examines the role of strategic litigation in addressing gender-based human rights violations in restrictive regimes.
- The Law Firm Management Committee published four articles addressing law firm strategy and operations. These include analysis of directory submissions as a tool for strategic return on investment (by Helen Foord), the impact of geopolitical developments on ESG decision-making in law firms (by Pamela Cone and Robert van Beemen), approaches to building successful client-facing practices (by Deborah Farone) and insights into law firm operational trends based on the 2025 report by the CEO Subcommittee.
- The LGBTQI+ Law Committee published two articles focusing on jurisdiction-specific developments. These include an analysis of surrogacy laws and LGBTQI+ family rights in Namibia (by Carli Schickerling) and an overview of legal progress and continuing challenges relating to LGBTQI+ rights in Colombia (by Andrés Jaramillo Mejía).
- The Senior Lawyers’ Committee published four articles addressing developments in legal practice and policy. These include discussions on the early inclusion of young lawyers in management (by Tosanbami Mene-Afejuku), the impact of AI and digitalisation on the UK immigration system (by Laura Devine), the concept and implications of green leases (by Jürgen Brandstätter) and the use of Brazilian antitrust procedures in private disputes (by Paulo Cezar Aragão and Bernardo Cascão).
- The War Crimes Committee published four contributions examining issues in international criminal law and conflict. These include analysis of the treatment of acquitted individuals in ICTR-related detentions in Niger (by Allison Turner), the exploitation of children in the Ukraine conflict (by Jenna Dolecek), reflections from the IBA War Crimes Committee Conference 2025 (by Paola Fudakowska) and a report on a webinar about arms trade accountability and state responsibility (by Dominika Iwan-Sojka).
A message about the IBA Pro Bono Declaration
In 2025, the IBA Pro Bono Committee advanced a renewed Pro Bono Declaration to affirm the vital role of the legal profession in achieving a just world and to continue to call upon the legal profession to undertake pro bono work as an integral part of the profession and the strengthening of legal institutions and the rule of law. The accompanying Guide to the Pro Bono Declaration (pages 3-10 of the document) offers guidance on pro bono practice.
The Guide includes a section titled ‘Pro Bono in Action’ where we will feature examples of pro bono practice and resources, to help promote understanding and engagement across a variety of practice streams. An example – ‘Climate change and pro bono’ – is included and we would like to feature similar content and examples from across all IBA committees as pro bono work is cross-cutting.
We would request that your committee provide a short (one page) ‘Pro Bono in Action’ submission for inclusion in the Guide, with the following general guidance:
- why pro bono work is important for this practice area (eg, agriculture and food), theme (eg, the climate crisis) or stakeholder group (eg, Indigenous Peoples);
- examples of pro bono work or how the legal profession is contributing through pro bono practice;
- resources that support pro bono practice in this area/theme (the Pro Bono Committee will also support resource identification); and
- any other information you wish to provide about pro bono in action.
Some committees may be concerned that pro bono work is not traditionally performed within their area of focus, but pro bono work is cross-cutting and there are many examples of pro bono practice for marginalised stakeholders who have need to benefit from expertise, but limited ability to afford legal services (eg, not-for-profit organisations). For example, pro bono contributions and programmes exist in intellectual property and sport to name just a few.
Content received by 31 August 2026 will be considered for inclusion in an updated version of the Guide.
If you would like to exchange further on this request or have a Pro Bono Committee member join a meeting of your committee, please contact Pro Bono Committee Officer Pamela Kovacs (pamela.kovacs@lawsociety.sk.ca).
We are excited to work with your committee and showcase the power of pro bono across the IBA!
Many thanks and best,
Pamela Kovacs
Website Officer, IBA Pro Bono Committee
Upcoming dates
Client KYC: anti-money laundering regimes and outlook for 2026
19 May 2026 1300 - 1400 BST
Webinar
Public servants first and lawyers second? The personal and professional ethical challenges for government and public lawyers
27 May 2026 1400 - 1500 BST
Webinar
3rd IBA Global Professional Ethics Symposium
10 Jun - 12 Jun 2026
Lisbon , Portugal
IBA Young Lawyers Professional Ethics Forum 2026
11 Jun 2026
Lisbon , Portugal
11th World Women Lawyers' Conference
24 Jun - 26 Jun 2026
Lisbon , Portugal
IBA Law Firm Management Committee Academy for Leaders
27 Jul - 30 Jul 2026
London , England