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The Legal Practice Division has developed and published a set of high-level Principles around the collection, use and sharing of digital identity information that could serve as the basis for engaging in dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.
By 2026, the rollout of Europe’s EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet under the eIDAS 2.0 framework will transform how individuals prove identity and how financial and digital services verify and protect it. As these trusted identity systems merge with payment infrastructures, new intersections arise between cybersecurity, privacy, and financial regulation and new questions emerge about who is responsible when things go wrong.
One part of the discussion will examine how cybersecurity, privacy, and financial liability frameworks intersect in the four-party model, and the other will dive into the new regulatory and business realities of biometric identity in the wallet era. Together, the session will lay out how responsibility is distributed in case of data misuse, security breaches, or systemic failures, and how biometric-based identity proofs introduce new layers of both opportunity and risk.
IBA Annual Conference Copenhagen 2026
The LGBTQI+ Law Committee tracks advancements and setbacks in various areas, including discrimination, criminalisation, family rights, recognition and status, identity, among others, and considers the legal implications of cultural and socio-economic issues related to LGBTQI+ interests.
The Committee aims to promote diversity and inclusiveness in the legal profession and society at large by presenting LGBTQI+ ideals and calling attention to legal matters and developments through its sessions, publications, projects and collaborations with other IBA committees, and external parties. The Committee welcomes LGBTQI+ individuals, and all allies and encourages all persons interested in our projects to join the Committee.
Apr 20, 2023
An employee’s gender can play a crucial role during their employment period and the entitlements arising from it. Austrian law so far has only known a binary gender (female and male) system. In 2018, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that a person can have different genders other than female or male. Thus, as a result of Constitutional Court case law, a third gender was introduced into the Austrian legal system. The following article discusses the effects this ruling has on current Austrian employment law related to the gender of the employee.
In Meta’s own words ‘We’re getting rid of a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate’, thereby freeing billions of social media users to post a wide array of derogatory remarks on subjects such as race, nationality, ethnic groups, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Annual IBA Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2025
A discussion of the legal issues relating to concepts of nonbinary identity as viewed through the eyes of indigenous cultures around the world.
IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025
Mar 26, 2026
This article examines India’s 2025 SIM-binding directions and explains how continuous SIM-linked identity verification aims to curb telecom-enabled cyber fraud, while also raising important technical, operational and privacy considerations.
This panel will be presented by the world’s most inventive and successful cases relating to international adoption, alternative medical processes and identity of citizenship.
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Jan 22, 2024
The Cambodian government has introduced new legislation in an attempt to provide a legal identity to the thousands of people in the country who currently lack proof they even exist. The law includes a focus on civil registration – the process of recording births, deaths, marriages and divorces – and is set to be implemented from July 2024. It’ll tackle the issues created where a person doesn’t have a legal identity – for example, limits to their access to public services, human rights and social protections.
Sep 20, 2021
Coming forward with information that could get someone into trouble has never been easy. To remedy this, states have been increasing their efforts to encourage whistleblowers to report wrongdoings by ensuring their protection from retaliation,1 which, up until recently, has been scarcely regulated, particularly in the European Union.2 The need to enhance the protection of whistleblowers has been thrown into the spotlight as a result of a series of scandals (such as the Panama Papers,3 Cambridge Analytica and Danske Bank scandals) in which whistleblowers played a key role.
This panel will exam the technical questions that may shape the evolution of Metaverse and the supporting technologies as blockchain and AI, including cyber-security; resilient digital identity; connectivity/telecoms; or ESG issues. This panel will include actual non-legal members of this field.
Metaverse; Artificial Intelligence; and Web3.0 Technology
Oct 18, 2022
As protestors in the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to be shot at by the country’s security forces and women outside of Iran cut off locks of their hair in solidarity with the Iranian women protesting for equal rights, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) notes parallels between...
• Building a professional identity: gain insights into developing a unique professional identity as a lawyer.
IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
Dec 03, 2025
This article analyses the regulatory challenges faced by Bolivia and Uruguay in regard to balancing the need to preserve traditional foods alongside the need to incorporate food innovation. Based on the concept of novel foods, the article examines how international regulations can both protect and limit access to culturally rooted products within global markets. The opportunities to harmonise food-related identities, sustainability and regulatory developments in South America within this context are also explored.
For this session, our panellists will identity and discuss several highlighted issues with lawyer well-being in general as well as propose existing and novel solutions to tackle this ubiquitous issue faced by a large number of law practices worldwide.
The Fundamentals of International Legal Business Practice
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) welcomes the renewal of the United Nations Independent Expert (IE) on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). Created in 2016 for an initial period of 3 years, this mandate was set up to respond to a specific pattern of violations directed against persons because of their SOGI.
As a result, LGBTQIA+ individuals continue to face disproportionate risks of violence, stigma, and discrimination based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. This session will explore the historical and political context of the increasing criminalisation, examine the rise of populist governments attacking LGBTQIA+ persons, and call on the international community to resist the attacks against recent advances in LGBTQIA+ equality worldwide.
IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025
With the recognition of ‘transgender’ as the ‘third gender’, the Supreme Court of India laid down the foundation for the recognition of rights of transgender persons in India in 2014. Through the recently enacted Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, these rights have now been enshrined into a much-awaited legal framework. The article analyses the key features of the law, the hits and misses and the impact on employers, especially in the private sector.
Big data algorithmic analytics, especially when combined with ‘open banking’ and fast identity-checking technology such as biometrics means that financial providers are better placed to tailor products for consumers and speed up the delivery of services.
IBA Annual Conference Miami 2022
Jun 30, 2020
Reflecting on the celebration of Pride across the world, the IBAHRI acknowledges the work still to be done to ensure the protection of LGBTQI+ persons.
When women are not equally represented on management level, young female talent lack role models as they cannot identify with leadership which creates an identity distance and leads to them feeling less entitled to leadership positions than their male counterparts.
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Aug 28, 2023
At the beginning of 2023, France joined a handful of countries by adopting a specific law prohibiting practices aimed at modifying a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, creating a criminal offence, with a clear definition and scope of conversion therapies. The Public Health Code was also amended accordingly.
Are unions adapting quickly enough to challenges such as AI, hybrid work reducing physical presence and organisational opportunities, shifting workforce identities, diversity considerations and the expectations of younger generations?
Annual IBA Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2026
Sep 26, 2022
Approaching the transgender discussion in Brazil from a labour and employment perspective highlights circumstances which may be challenging for companies and employees, especially as there are no specific laws regulating how companies should proceed on a day-to-day basis to promote a workplace free of discrimination. Companies may however, adopt various practices based on case law to provide an equal workplace, respecting the fundamental rights of transgender people, including their right to work.
Evidence continues to surface of higher levels of brutality being committed against those with intersecting marginalised identities – including, notably, women from the Hazara and Kurdish communities in Afghanistan and Iran, respectively.
IBA War Crimes Committee Conference 2023: Pursuing justice in a world on fire
Aug 28, 2023
This article discusses the interactions between diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives within organisations, particularly those focused on the LGBTQI+ community and legal obligations related to the protection of personal data and sensitive personal data.
May 28, 2021
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) supports the United Kingdom Government’s plan to ban conversion therapy as outlined in the 11 May 2021 Queen’s Speech and calls for legislative steps to be taken without delay.
How can privacy be protected and identity theft thwarted for the metaverse participants?
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Jul 26, 2021
The ruling in the first transfemicide case to come before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is set to change the landscape of rights for transgender people across the Americas.
Traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) are the manifestations of traditional knowledge, folklore, and cultural heritage that are deeply rooted in the cultural and social identities of indigenous communities and traditional societies.
IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023
Sep 24, 2025
This article examines India’s evolving DEI compliance landscape, highlights compliance and cultural gaps across sectors and explores operational challenges and strategies employers must navigate to embed inclusion in both form and function.
Apr 04, 2023
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) strongly condemns Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill that includes the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’. The Ugandan Parliament passed the Bill overwhelmingly with 389 votes to 2 on 21 March 2023.
On 15 October 2020, the Supreme Court of New Zealand issued a decision discussing the interpretation of New Zealand’s Trade Marks Act 2002 (the ‘Act’) in International Consolidated Business Proprietary Limited v SC Johnson & Son Incorporated [2020] NZSC 110. The decision explored, in particular, the provisions relating to applications for revocation for non-use and the effect of revocation on subsequent applications for registration.
By Lloyd Nicholas Vergara and Ruwani Dantanarayan. In Review: the LGBTI Law Committee at the 2019 IBA Annual Conference in Seoul
Recently a full bench of the High Court in South Africa handed down a ground-breaking judgment which upheld the rights of undocumented children to a basic education and ruled that the right to a basic education enshrined in the South African Constitution applies to all regardless of their status. This landmark judgment provides much needed protection to countless undocumented and vulnerable children in South Africa. The application was brought by public interest organisations in the interests of all affect
Apr 03, 2025
Creating meaningful workplace policies goes beyond legal requirements and is significantly about building a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. While compliance is essential, it should be seen as the foundation, not the finish line. This article explores how workplace policies can move beyond statutory obligations that promote true equity.
This article looks at LGBTI rights in Mexico City, and LGBTI political rights and the ban on conversion therapy as recent trends.
Aug 28, 2023
This article discusses a defamation lawsuit around an initiative to equip educators with resources to teach students about sexual orientation and gender identity in the jurisdiction of Canada.
Mar 27, 2023
The three per cent tax was introduced in France in 1983 to identify the ultimate owners of real estate properties located in France despite the interposition of French or foreign legal entities. To summarise, French and foreign entities owning real estate properties (or real estate property rights relating to such properties) must annually declare their shareholding and disclose the identity of their ultimate owner. If they fail to file a proper tax return and disclose the required information, entities can be sanctioned to pay, for each failing year, a tax equal to three per cent of the market value of the real estate property or the rights of the real estate property they own.
Jun 02, 2023
The article discusses the CJUE ruling of 14 October 2021 in case C-186/18 on limitations on claims for infringement of an EU protected plant variety right. The crux of the ruling was a determination of the date of counting a three-year period after which claims become time-barred – specifically, in reference to ongoing infringements. The conclusions of CJUE are compared to those of the Polish Supreme Court in a ruling concerning limitations on claims for infringement of an EUTM in which a different view of the ongoing nature of certain infringements of IP is taken.
In recent years, transparency has become one of the major topics of discussion and interest within the global arbitration community. Developments such as the adoption of the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor–State Arbitration and the related Mauritius Convention, as well as their incorporation into the draft texts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement, show the importance of transparency in international arbitration.
Employers are increasingly focusing on the area of whistleblowing, following recent high-value cases and in light of the new European Union whistleblowing directive. This article looks at the current United Kingdom regime and the new EU directive and discusses best practice for employers when implementing whistleblowing policies and procedures and investigating concerns raised.
Nov 27, 2024
The IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration of 2024 update – without overhauling – the 2014 version by fine-tuning drafting, clarifying ambiguities, incorporating established arbitral practice, and reinforcing various fundamental principles. The 2024 Guidelines were the result of work by a taskforce composed of over 60 individuals involved in the field of international arbitration with diverse backgrounds. Their work was informed by comments received from the international arbitration community during a consultation phase. The 2024 Guidelines include eight key updates that: (1) clarify their scope of application; (2) clarify that Part I of the 2024 Guidelines (General Standards) prevails over Part II (Application Lists); (3) clarify the role of the subjective versus objective standards in evaluating conflicts of interest and disclosure; (4) reinforce the arbitrator’s disclosure obligations; (5) broaden and clarify the definition of ‘relationships’ for the purposes of evaluating conflicts of interest and disclosures; (6) reiterate the arbitrator’s duty to investigate; (7) reiterate the parties’ duty to investigate and inform; and (8) update the ‘traffic light system’ of Red, Orange and Green Lists to reflect current international arbitral practice.
The principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination have recently been in the spotlight as social awareness has increased the need to protect specific categories of person, particularly in the workplace. Women were the first protected category against discrimination based on sex. Nowadays, whether gender reassignment can be protected through the provisions safeguarding gender discrimination is a controversial topic.
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