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Dec 04, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing rapidly in China, with the number of patents and the size of the market both ranking highly among countries. However, this rapid development has posed new challenges to the legal framework, ethical norms and social governance, prompting China to continuously adjust and improve the relevant regulatory system.
With the increased demand for minerals globally to supply the raw materials for technologies needed to address Climate Change, mining companies increasingly are being proactive on the issues of biodiversity, conservation and sustainability captured in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Convention for Biological Diversity’s 2020 Strategic Plan and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework discussed at the United Nation’s 2022 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal. Differing types of mining across diverse ecological regions present a wide array of biodiversity and conservation challenges that tend to be sui generis, but the immutable fact is that the challenges cannot be ignored and must be addressed proactively, creatively and cooperatively, including through emerging net-positive policies and long-term planning for improved outcomes. The challenges, which must be analyzed and understood on more than an individual footprint basis and in relative terms to other threats, often may employ established concepts of mitigation and offset commitments. Mine reclamation (both contemporaneous and post-mining) and ultimate closure, meanwhile are best managed and planned based not only upon legal requirements, but also upon local engagement and science inputs to achieve self-sustaining ecosystems appropriate for the life zones impacted by mining operations. This panel will explore emerging solutions to successfully overcome the challenges.
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Sep 27, 2023
The rise in popularity of generative artificial intelligence (‘generative AI’) has ignited the discussion on whether junior employees can be replaced by it. Some have gone to the extent of questioning whether professionals, such as lawyers, can also be replaced by generative AI. Is it wise to replace junior employees or lawyers with generative AI? What factors should be considered before deploying generative AI tools in your business? To consider these questions, we first need to understand the basic workings of generative AI and what it can offer. Fundamentally, AI is intelligence that is not biological. The general understanding is that machines will be ascribed with this intelligence. These machines have the ability to interpret, learn from and process external data in a way that is similar to the capabilities of the human mind. Generative AI is a type of AI program that generates content from a data set. It uses deep learning, a type of machine learning system that behaves like a neural network to simulate the functions of a human brain. In other words, it can mimic human intelligence by exhibiting analytical skills to create new content. Not only can generative AI be utilised in chatbot programs to create text, but it can also be used in programs that can create images, sound or videos. This article will consider two major forms of generative AI, in the context of risks to businesses: chatbots using generative pre-trained transformer technology programs; and image generating programs.
Fundamentals of International Legal Business Practice: IBA Young Lawyers’ Training Course Miami
The rise in the frequency of online cross-border legal services, already in evidence before the pandemic but doubtless increased by home working and travel restrictions during the pandemic, poses challenging questions about whether bars’ existing regulation of foreign lawyers, often based on their physical presence, needs to be reconsidered in the light of digital advances.
IBA Annual Conference Miami 2022
Jul 08, 2025
Mediation is on the rise internationally as a means to settle disputes in a cost-effective manner. Chinese parties appear to be increasingly interested in mediation as an option. This article examines the evolving landscape of mediation in China and internationally. It considers how mediation for Chinese parties is evolving and whether mediation is a good option for Chinese parties in cross-border disputes. Commercial mediation has seen remarkable growth, bolstered by a supportive PRC judicial system and legislative initiatives encouraging parties to find harmonious ways to resolve disputes. The article analyses the three primary types of mediation in China: people’s mediation, administrative mediation, and commercial mediation. It also looks at mediation rules and proceedings in common law jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. The article anecdotally considers the cultural elements, emphasising the Chinese parties’ preference for evaluative mediation styles as a reflection of civil law. Through case studies of international disputes involving Chinese and US parties, the article illustrates the practical dynamics of mediation involving Chinese parties and underscores the importance of cultural sensitivity in international mediation. As Chinese parties continue to go global, mediation is emerging as an attractive option for efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution. This analysis assesses whether the promotion of mediation is yielding tangible outcomes and explores the future of mediation involving Chinese and foreign parties.
Preeminent practitioners will present the latest legal and market developments shaping private M&A transactions in Europe. In addition to broader trends, the panel will make a deep dive into two case studies:
- the evolving use of W&I insurance - including common triggers and emerging use cases; and
- strategies for salvaging do-or-die transactions despite the emergence of significant last-minute issues (such as a material due diligence problem or changes in the external context)
14th IBA European Corporate and Private M&A Conference
Apr 22, 2022
This article discusses the recent SEC case involving PwC and highlights the wider implications for intermediary institutions providing professional services in a tightened regulatory and enforcement regime in China’s banking and financial sector.
Year by year, the importance of e-commerce continues to grow. In many countries, it has become the dominant method for both consumers and businesses to purchase and sell goods and services. Cross-border transactions are the norm in this space, with significant implications for both regulation and dispute resolution. How can e-commerce platforms ensure compliance with competing data privacy rules? When disputes arise, how do courts determine jurisdiction and choice of law? To what extent are consumers treated differently from other market participants, and what are their rights? How can manufacturers and content creators protect their intellectual property rights online? This interactive session will explore these and other recurring issues impacting the rapidly evolving world of e-commerce
IBA Annual Litigation Forum: Litigation in the digital era - challenges and opportunities
By Yi-An (Ann) Lai. Alipay and the impact of e-payment systems resulting in new regulations in China and other jurisdictions.
In the past few years we have seen major supply chain disruptions. Several factors have an impact and create risks for the international supply chain: cyber attacks, geopolitical risks, sanctions, business interruptions, natural disasters, pandemics, finance. The session will focus on how to identify supply chain risks and manage such risks, by insurance solutions and/or contractual provisions.
The International Commerce and Distribution Landscape – New Tensions and Restrictions Along the Global Supply Chain
Feb 17, 2023
This article will outline the development of China’s restrictions on the cross-border transfer of personal information (PI export), detailing PI export mechanisms provided by the Personal Information Protection Law. It will also explain the practical implications of the restrictions.
How are global firms navigating the Latin American market? The impact of Big Four firms, Big Law and global alliances.
Law Firm Management Committee Latin America Conference - Building the law firm of the future
Jun 12, 2024
The new Foreign State Immunity Law 2023 of the People’s Republic of China came into force on 1 January 2024. This shifts the country (as well as its special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau) away from absolute state immunity to restrictive state immunity, bringing it more in line with the relatively prevalent practice among the international community. This article discusses the status of state immunity in public international law, analyses the new law’s provisions and examines practical challenges that will be faced by those seeking to utilise this law to enforce judgments or awards against foreign states and state entities, and the new law’s innovations that go beyond the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property of 2004 and the UK State Immunity Act 1978.
The panel will seek to address contracting, transacting and other challenges of outsourcing within emerging sectors, like Fintech, against the background of regulatory requirements such as financial services regulation, delivery chain requirements, CSR, cybersecurity, and related issues. An example would be the revised Payment Service Providers Directive (PSD2) which introduced massive change to the payments sector.
IBA Annual Conference Miami 2022
Apr 22, 2025
The latest research by the International Bar Association (IBA) Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU) into gender disparity in the law across the world is focused on Taiwan. The findings reveal that women are underrepresented at the top of the profession in…
Supply chains activity is becoming a fundamental piece on the success of companies, with greater challenges due to the global economy, post pandemic environment, current trade wars and an increase on regulatory enforcement made by the regulators. No doubt that enterprises could be responsible for violating the law or by breaching their supply chain agreements. However, the questions are:
Could members of the board of directors, chief officers or even the shareholders, have any kind of responsibility and which type could it be?
How should the duty of care, loyalty and confidentiality be understood in relation with the supply chain activities?
Can the corporate veil be lifted to impose direct responsibility to shareholders – tax matters or creditor fraud cases?
Knowing its responsibilities and implementing best corporate practices on trade and supply chain aspects, will help these members and officers reduce or even eliminate their responsibility. This analysis will be made from an academic, in-house, and external counselor point of view.
The International Commerce and Distribution Landscape – New Tensions and Restrictions Along the Global Supply Chain
The IBA's LPRU has published a report on the nature and prevalence of bullying and sexual harassment in the legal profession around the world, based on the findings of its extensive 2018 survey on the subject. It offers both observations and recommendations for action. The IBA hopes that the report will encourage law firms to revisit their policies and training for responding to and preventing bullying and harassment.
The session will cover market participants views on this type of insurance in M&A transactions. Speakers will cover key matters such as:
• When is the appropriate time to engage a broker
• How relevant is the brand of the due diligence provider to the terms and condition of the policy
• How to treat the disclosures and specific indemnities in the agreements of the transaction and of course
• Will they pay in the future?
8th Global Entrepreneurship Conference
Jan 21, 2022
In rapid succession, a number of jurisdictions have moved away from focusing on antitrust enforcement to the proposed regulation of digital platforms. Ostensibly, the regulatory focus is about competition and potential concerns that traditional ex post enforcement may be ill-equipped to address the power of digital platforms. This article focuses on the realities of what platform regulation might mean, and how to better frame and structure the nature of appropriate regulation. This article first identifies a number of the different approaches to regulation that various jurisdictions have put forward, and then lays out six basic principles for platform regulation to help address some of the potential harms that such approaches may unwittingly be pursuing.
Mergers and acquisitions in Latin America — building bridges through business: rethinking M&A in the Americas
Nov 14, 2024
A session report from the diversity and inclusion session at the IBA Annual Conference in Mexico City.
Reimagining remedy: developing effective grievance mechanisms and remedies
May 21, 2024
The 26th Transnational Crime Conference, which took place between 8–10 May 2024 in Milan, Italy, was a resounding success. In fact, it has become the most well-attended international criminal law conference in the IBA’s history!
IBA European Fashion and Luxury Law Conference
Building, construction and infrastructure disputes have a long history of utilising arbitral tribunals and judicial courts to resolve disputes. Disputes may have huge monetary impacts on investors, developers, contractors, and insurers. Problems with delivering on contracts, breaches of terms and the halting of projects have been endemic features of the construction industry in many jurisdictions. Dispute resolution clauses in construction contracts increasingly tend to include a tiered approach to dispute management in order to reduce the costs of fully blown proceedings.
How does negotiation and mediation can assist in the management of disputes arising out of construction contracts? Let’s talk about these options to bring the construction contracts in on time and within budget. The use of independent mediators throughout the entire construction project: is it a solution to appoint mediators at the commencement of the project to be available every time there is an issue until completion of the works? What are the advantages and peculiarities of mediation in the construction industry?
IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
Lender on lender violence” has moved from a US phenomenon to a global restructuring strategy, reshaping capital structures from New York to Paris and beyond. The panel will bring together US, European and cross-border perspectives to examine how uptiers, dropdowns, distressed disposals and co-operation agreements are being deployed and challenged across jurisdictions. It will explore whether courts, drafting and market discipline will curb these liability management tactics, and whether engineered creditor hierarchies are now a permanent feature of global finance.
41st International Financial Law Conference
Challenges and disruptions in-house: how are general counsels coping?
Political instability and poor governance in Latin America unfortunately are not new, but nowadays their impact in private investment has reached a peak, and one of the ways they manifest is by the notorious increase of controversies between governmental authorities and private investors relating to PPP projects, government contracts and investment agreements. This panel will discus the rise of investment and international arbitration in Latin America, the current trends and hot topics. Experts and renowned practitioners from the panel will share their experiences in this arena.
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Entrepreneurs today have a global mindset. Entrepreneurs need investors who have a holistic vision of the market and a large network of other investors; they can help build a talent base and develop collaborative relationships based on trust. Entrepreneurs transfer the majority of economic activity to the investor country. But countries are also putting up both transactional and ecosystem barriers. How do investors and startups deal with the legal and cultural challenges they encounter. We will talk with investors and entrepreneurs and practitioners how to navigate the regulatory, compliance and cultural challenges in their quest for growth.
8th Global Entrepreneurship Conference
10th Annual IBA World Life Sciences Conference
The cannabis products market is quickly growing all over the world: in Europe, North America, Mexico and many other countries.
From production to distribution, what are the new frontiers and opportunities?
IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
- Debt push down possibilities and constraints
- Recapitalisation measures
- Leveraged transactions / structuring with debt
- Cross border migrations and foreign (triangular) mergers
- Pricing of deals / valuation issues and trends
Reporter
Mathieu Lizotte PwC Canada, Québec
15th Annual London Finance and Capital Markets Tax Conference
Step into the strategic mindset of distinguished general counsels and in-house lawyers as they share invaluable insights into safeguarding business operations in overseas markets. This session will offer a roadmap for legal professionals to proactively support and protect their organisations. Contractual considerations, compliance frameworks, corporate requirements, governance issues, different standards etc. would need to be considered. Learn how legal strategies can effectively hedge risks, ensuring a robust legal framework that fosters success in the international field.
8th Global Entrepreneurship Conference
How can players reduce their carbon footprint while still developing the oil and gas projects that are still vital for the world’s energy matrix, such as the electrification of facilities, carbon capturing near the production facilities, supply chain, etc.
IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
In this session, seasoned mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experts will share lessons learned regarding financial mechanisms that tend to work well in M&A deals and pitfalls that may be encountered along the way.
The session will cover issues including:
• Contractual options for managing changes in the financial condition of a target prior to closing;
• pros and cons of these options from buy- and sell-side perspectives;
• current trends in adjustment mechanisms; and
• sample cases illustrating the practical application of different mechanisms.
IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
Metaverse is growing exponentially with increasing support from investors and business entities. It provides real-life experiences in a simulated environment with unmatched potential for entertainment and earnings, which can be divided into two sorts of platforms in general. The first involves leveraging nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies to create blockchain-based metaverse startups. People can buy virtual products and create their own settings on web platforms. The second group uses the metaverse to describe virtual worlds in general, where people might meet for business or enjoyment. In addition, an array of technology solutions for closing contracts and solving disputes is available with the blockchain technology.
These activities trigger a number of legal issues, as for instance the applicable law, securities issues, NFTs and crypto currency regulations, IP enforcement and brand protection, tax issues, contract and tort laws, defamations laws and dispute resolution procedures.
Our panel of experts will discuss these and other aspects to get a clear picture as to what you might come across when exploring the Metaverse field.
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Ending child marriage: legal obligations and global responses
HumanRightsRuleOfLawThe international ecosystem of courts and legal protections that preserves and promotes rule of law, human rights and democracy seem to be in peril. Governments increasingly are straying from their international commitments with regard to refugee protection, freedom of expression, the right to protest and many other areas of law fundamental to peace and justice. What is to be done?
IBA Annual Conference Miami 2022
Shortages of medicines and medical devices are caused not only by manufacturing challenges, but also by distribution unavailability, due to issues at distribution chain level. This session will examine the phenomena within the distribution chain that can lead to shortages of medicine and medical devices, such as parallel trade. The session will also explore different approaches to deal with such shortages by several jurisdictions, including the imposition of regulated prices, blacklist, export controls/restrictions, government mandated distribution and challenging product registration rules.
IBA Annual Conference Miami 2022
This session will provide an overview of some of the key legal and regulatory issues in Mexico and Latin America, including insurtech and regulatory sandboxes, open insurance, parametric insurance, taxation, health insurance in the aftermath of Covid-19, alternative distribution channels and the role of managing general agents (MGAs). Lawyers in private practice and industry players will provide insight on these topics with a regional perspective.
IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
- 1. International Data Transfer
- 2.Connected cars
- 3.Liability for AI errors and misconduct
- 4.Law 4.0: adapting legal systems for the digital age (including machine-to-machine law enforcement)
- 5.Patentability for software - including patent eligibility restoration act in the US
- 6.IP rights for cannabis related inventions
- 7.Robotic-assisted medical procedures - IP, regulatory and cybersecurity issues
- 8.US and International privacy and AI compliance enforcement trends
- 9.Post-merger integration in tech M&A transactions: avoiding pitfalls
- 10.Beyond financials: assessing "intangible liabilities" in M&A
IBA 6th Silicon Hills Conference – the Tech Epicentre of Texas: from Start-Up to Exit
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