HumanRightsOn 16 February 2021, the European Court of Human Rights held that the non-punishment principle is a component of States' obligation under Article 4, the prohibition of slavery, servitude and forced labour. The principle stipulates that the involvement in unlawful activities by trafficked persons which results from exploitation, should not be criminalised and punished. Such unlawful activities include both 'specific forms of exploitation' that trafficked persons may be coerced to do (such as engaging in illegal work, drugs cultivation, or soliciting prostitution). The IBA has engaged on a project with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) to produce unique research of the principle through a comparative analysis of how the non-punishment principle is applied in law and practice across different jurisdictions. The session will look at how the principle is applied across different jurisdictions, and will discuss recommendations to improve the legislative provision and practical implementation, including through due diligence laws imposed on corporates. It will also reference a pilot program to train lawyers and law enforcement personnel on the principle of non-punishment and ancillary matters and the creation of a dedicated online platform on the IBA/BIICL websites which will contain which will host videos, podcasts and web links to interviews with experts and practitioners from NGOs, international organisations and multi-stakeholder initiatives accessible to the public, as well as to legal professionals.

In the last years, we have seen several Latin American companies filing for Chapter 11 in United States instead of filing for reorganization in their own countries and then seeking protection in the US under Chapter 15. This panel will address the reasons for such trends, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of each of such strategies (Chapter 11 vs. Chapter 15), as well as on cultural matters. We shall also explore the different nature of the Latam multinationals’ equity composition, normally with a strong controlling shareholder, vis-à-vis the traditional US debtor and how the absolute priority rule may (or may not) influence the decision on where to file.  

SustainabilityFocusHumanRightsIn this session we will look at how human rights issues can arise and are being dealt with in international arbitration.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusRecent years have seen a record number of severe hurricanes and cyclones, firestorms, and other catastrophic events tied to climate change. This session will gather leading insurance professionals to discuss the implications of climate change and increasing catastrophes on insurance industry.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusIn this session we will look at the following three aspects:

- Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in Europe and next deadlines: introduction of Taxonomy Regulations in full, as well as SFDR 2, in 2022;

- US progress in ESG and catching up with the EU; and

- ESG data – the key challenge for compliance and how development finance institutions (DFI) are helping champion ESG into the mainstream.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusThe transition plans to carbon neutrality within an appropriate time frame recommended by the COP and domestic law and policymakers involve a number of risks inherent both in the implementation of the plans drawn up and in unforeseen factors. Examples include stranded assets, borrowers’ defaults, defective information models, insufficient resources, climate casualties, social movements, etc. Financial institutions that are called upon to fund green infrastructure projects and to support the necessary systemic reallocation of capital and investments, must look to mitigate their own risks and offer their clients new financial products allowing them to hedge those risks. The purpose of this panel session is to identify the issues that lawyers advising financial institutions and funds must navigate and to consider the mechanisms and products used for hedging these risks.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusEnvironmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are increasingly coming to the fore in the minds of governments, investors and consumers. Governments are increasing regulation in areas such as gender, racial, and socio-economic diversity, corporate governance and anti-bribery and corruption regulation of companies. Businesses are making commitments to shareholders and the markets in which they operate in relation to their ESG credentials. Consumers are increasingly using their collective voice to drive change. The construction sector is particularly exposed to ESG considerations, particularly in relation to its sustainability credentials but also in other areas. This session will explore the impact of ESG in construction and infrastructure projects and the implications for financing, procurement strategies and delivery.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusHumanRightsMandatory Human Rights Due Diligence (mHRDD) laws are transforming the legal landscape for business. Faced with substantive due diligence requirements, sanctions for non-compliance, and heightened scrutiny from stakeholders, companies are scrambling to understand and incorporate mHRDD into their business models and supply chains. This panel will take a practical look at what companies can do to address these binding human rights-related rules. It will cover the Who, What, Where and How of mHRDD including trending legislation across jurisdictions and emerging best practices. Special emphasis will be placed on the overlap between mHRDD and the climate emergency, as well as the impending EU human rights and environmental due diligence legislation that may require corporates due diligence laws to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusHumanRightsThe session will explore the current regulatory framework for sustainable and responsible investment in agriculture and how this can contribute to the mitigation of the climate crisis. It will explore how lawyers in the private and public sectors can use a variety of legal tools including environmental and human rights law to promote sustainable and responsible investment in agriculture within their national contexts.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

Advancing Land-based Investment Governance (ALIGN) supports governments, civil society, local communities and other relevant actors in strengthening the governance of land-based investments. The project is implemented by a consortium led by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) and Namati, and is funded with UK aid from the UK government. Some of this webinar material has been produced as part of ALIGN by CCSI and IIED, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of ALIGN partners or the UK Government.

SustainabilityFocusHumanRightsIn the last couple of years, more and more jurisdictions impose statutory rules on companies to procure compliance with certain ESG principles and human rights along their supply chains. For instance, the UK has enacted the Modern Slavery Act in 2015, and Germany will see the Supply Chain Protection Act come into effect in 2023. The session will review what risks and chances companies are facing when trying to implement ESG principles and/or to procure compliance with basic human rights along their chain, both on a compulsory and voluntary basis. The session will review risks of liability, effectiveness in promoting social justice, human rights, environmental responsibility and gender equality as well as discuss potential litigation scenarios arising from the announcement and reporting of ESG principles. At last, the session will try to reach a conclusion to what extent companies can be actors of “private enforcement” of human rights and ESG principles.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

The following questions that are worth addressing in a Red Flag DD on a real estate transaction will be addressed in an interactive way:

• Are there any restrictions for foreign companies to buy commercial properties in your jurisdiction?
• In which ways has ESG had an influence on real estate transactions in your jurisdiction? (Inspiration: Green Washing, EU-Taxonomy, W&I)
• Which are the most attractive ways to finance commercial real estate investments? Does ESG have an impact on the this?
• Which are the most significant caveats at real estate share deals/asset deals in your jurisdiction? (Tax, others?)
• Has the COVID pandemic had an impact on the real estate market in your jurisdiction? (force majeure clauses, increased risk of tenant bankruptcies/restructuring or other clauses to watch for in the DD-process)
• How much of lawyer’s work is substituted by artificial intelligence ?
• How will we work when we will be again completely free to move around (travelling as before, home office, others?)
   

Private antitrust litigation, long the preserve of the US, is now also booming in Europe and elsewhere, and increasingly includes class actions or other forms of collective legal procedures. What are the greatest challenges for plaintiffs and defendants in multi-jurisdictional cases?  What has been the impact of EU Damages Directive and does harmonisation there need to go further? Does the success of private litigation mean that leniency policies need reform to restore incentives? What about monopolisation and dominance claims? How is damages quantification best done? Does the US experience have lessons for the rest of the world?

DiversityInclusionWomen's equality in various fields and sectors, such as workplaces, marketplaces and the community should be the normality. Relevant presence and influence of women in the Law should not be the exception. It seems that there is a profuse presence of women in IP, mainly in the trademark law, also it appears that this is not the case in the patent law. However, legal departments in the pharma industry seems to be managed mainly by women, at least, in some jurisdictions. The panel would discuss from various perspectives the truthfulness of some of the main taboos of women ascendancy in the IP Law.

Carve-out transactions and sunset asset divestitures have become regular occurrences in the current M&A climate.  For some they are messy and desperate, and give Buyer significant leverage to profit; but in other cases clever sellers will be able to turn the tables. This panel will discuss the particularities of these transactions as compared to traditional M&A as well as common pitfalls and points for attention, and ways to turn superior insight into tactical advantage.

Buoyed by evolving global economic interactivity and driven by the initiative of such institutions as ICSID and UNCITRAL, Investor-State Mediation has become a growing staple of the ADR lexicon and feature of investment dispute management.
 
This session will feature institution representatives, legal counsel, and mediators who, together, will;

• Address current international developments
• Consider new mediation provisions being adopted in bilateral and multilateral investment treaties
• Provide practice updates on the use of mediation in Investor-State disputes

Expect a lively exchange around one of the hottest sectors in international dispute resolution

For start-ups and family businesses, establishing a professionalized board and other aspects of corporate governance tend to be far down the priority list. And yet, several experiences have demonstrated that investing in good governance is crucial for long-term success of non-listed companies. In this panel we will examine the advantages of adopting good corporate governance for private companies and the main risks associated with inertia, with a close look to the key issues that any private company should consider when structuring its governance, alongside with the new trends in legislation.

The legal profession is under attack. Every day, new accusations of enabling criminal and unethical activity emerge, and calls to end self-regulation grow ever louder. 
 
What are we to do about this? 
 
So far, the profession’s response has been mixed, and even contradictory. Criminal lawyers rightly point out that it is their corporate counterparts who are the targets of most criticisms, risking a dangerous division of the profession. Others argue that even acknowledging the validity of some of these attacks will have catastrophic results, and risks opening the Pandora’s Box of lawyers becoming associated with the interests of their clients. ‘Lawyers are politically and ethically neutral figures, and should be permitted to advise their clients on any course of action so long as it is legal’ is the standard reply, but is this true? 
 
How unfair are the criticisms being levelled at the profession? Is it not already heavily divided? Do the profession’s core principles even apply to corporate lawyers anymore? And if corporate lawyers have become businessmen first, and legal professionals second, what does this mean in a world where big business is being increasingly regulated along ethical lines? Events are already pushing the profession in a certain direction, regardless of how much we might object: law firms have traditionally been reluctant to draw ethical lines in the sand, yet recent events in Russia and Ukraine have forced many firms to start taking an ethical stance where they might not have previously. 
 
Yet is the formal ethical regulation of lawyers actually possible when our profession is founded on the certainty of statute, reasoned judicial precedent, and independent regulation? Are those trying to adapt the law to ever-changing ethical standards simply giving in to cancel culture and mob rule? Or are they simply acknowledging the reality of the new world of social activism in which business, law, and all of us now operate, one which we ignore at our peril? 
 
This session will attempt to tackle some of these thorny issues and marks the formal start of the IBA’s broader engagement with its members on these vital questions. 

An open meeting of the International Construction Projects Committee held to discuss matters of interest and future activities.

This session will look at the potential liability of employers, corporations and officers for breaching their duties to provide for the psychological safety of their workers and for exposing them to workplace stress. It will outline the new international standardISO45003‑2021- Psychological Health & Safety at Work and will consider the investigation process where there has been an incident or complaint and what steps employers should be taking and the different approaches taken in different jurisdictions around the globe. The session will also look at recent coronial inquests involving workplace incidents which have increased with the recent pandemic where workers have been exposed to workplace stress at a levels not previously seen.