SPPI Officer Manual

The principal objectives of the IBA are:

• To promote an exchange of information between legal associations worldwide;
• To support the independence of the judiciary and the right of lawyers to practise their profession without interference; and
• To support human rights for lawyers worldwide through its Human Rights Institute.

The IBA works towards these objectives in three main areas of activity:

• Services for individual lawyer members through its Divisions, Committees and other entities;
• Support for activities of bar associations and in particular, developing bars; and
• Support of human rights for lawyers worldwide.

The IBA is governed through a two-tier management structure.

The Management Board has responsibility for the management of the business of the Association as a whole, including its finances and other particular functions. The Management Board is subject to the general direction of the IBA Council.

The IBA Council has ultimate responsibility for the Association with the following particular functions:

• to debate and express opinion upon issues affecting the legal profession;
• to receive reports from the Management Board, PPID and LPD, and to comment thereon as it thinks fit;
• to elect the IBA Officers (other than the Treasurers);
• to ratify the budgets presented by the Management Board;
• to receive the Association’s annual accounts;
• to fix the dues of Member Organisations;
• to appoint the Association’s auditors;
• to elect (biennially) three members of the Management Board (for convenience referred to as representatives of the Member Organisations); and
• to affect constitutional changes.

For more detail regarding the governance of the Council, please see the IBA Constitution, which may be downloaded from the IBA website here.

How are the IBA Officers elected?

The election of the IBA Officers is based on the recommendations of the Nominations Committee. More information concerning the process of nominations and elections, and the duties of the IBA Officers, can be found in the IBA Constitution, from the IBA website here.

The IBA Officers consist of the following positions:

President

The IBA President is the most senior Officer of the Association, elected biennially by the Council, chairing and reporting to the Management Board and the Council. The President is the Association’s principal representative and spokesperson and has the principal responsibility for setting the agenda and developing strategy for the Association as a whole.

Vice-President

The Vice-President works closely with the President and his/her principal functions are to deputise for the President, to attend meetings of the Management Board and to perform such tasks as the President or the Management Board may invite him/her to perform.

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General’s principal responsibility is the membership, both organisational and individual. He/she is also responsible for developing and enhancing the relationship between the Association and the Member Organisations (in consultation with the President and Vice-President) and for all procedural and constitutional matters.

Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer

The LPD Secretary-Treasurer and LPD Assistant Secretary-Treasurer are also the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer of the IBA respectively. They form, with the IBA Finance Director and Executive Director, a Financial Planning Committee (chaired by the IBA Treasurer). The Committee is responsible for preparing the Association’s budgets, reviewing accounts, recommending long-term financial planning and reporting to the Management Board.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Legal Practice Division and the Section on Public and Professional Interest are also classified as IBA Officers. For a full list of Officers see here. Information concerning their respective duties can be found in the relevant Division By-Laws.

The IBA Standing Committees are:

IBA Charitable Trust

The IBA Charitable Trust is a US-based charitable foundation engaged since 1986 in a wide variety of international charitable endeavours related to the rule of law, including continuing legal education and equitable access to the legal system and, particularly in more economically disadvantaged parts of the world, infrastructure improvements, competent legal services and legal services administration.

*Details of how to apply to the Foundation can be found here.

Constitution and Governance Committee

The Constitution and Governance Committee advises upon the interpretation of and changes to the IBA Constitution.

Credentials Committee

The Credentials Committee gives opinion as to:

• the eligibility of an applicant for full organisational membership; and

• whether sustaining Member Organisations should be invited to designate a representative Councillor under article 5.1.1 of the constitution.

Nominations Committee

The Nominations Committee receives and makes recommendations to the IBA Council concerning persons for election as senior IBA Officers.

Online Services Committee

The Online Services Committee advises on computers and database matters relating to the IBA membership and the IBA office.

During your work with the Association, you may see acronyms sometimes used to describe entities within the Association:

AAG Academics Advisory Group

AF African Regional Forum

ANLBS Alternative and New Law Business Structures

APF Asia Pacific Regional Forum

ARF Arab Regional Forum

BIC Bar Issues Commission

BLI Business Law International (publication)

CCF Corporate Counsel Forum

CLI Competition Law International (publication)

CLO Council Liaison Officer

CLInt Construction Law International (publication)

CMF Capital Markets Forum

EF European Regional Forum

FBA Forum for Barristers and Advocates

GI Global Insight (publication)

IBAGEI IBA Global Employment Institute

IBAHRI IBA Human Rights Institute

IBA International Bar Association

ICP International Construction Projects

JERL Journal on Energy and Natural Resources Law (publication)

JF Judges’ Forum

LARF Latin American Regional Forum

LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Committee

LPD Legal Practice Division

MOs Member Organisations

MOR Member Organisation Representative

NARF North American Regional Forum

PEC Professional Ethics Committee

PPID Public and Professional Interest Division

SEERIL Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources & Infrastructure Law

SLC Senior Lawyers’ Committee

SPPI Section on Public and Professional Interest

UKELG United Kingdom Energy Lawyers’ Group

WLC Women Lawyers Committee

YLC Young Lawyers’ Committee

How are the contact details of Officers shared online?

Committee Officer pages, available on each Committee website, provide details and contact information for each Officer within the Committee and any Subcommittees of that group. The information available is the Officer’s position, name, firm name and address, and e-mail address and can be used by the Committees to create their own email distribution list for Officers, or used by existing / potential members to reach out to the Committee’s leadership. By accepting appointment as an Officer, Officers agree to their contact details being made available on the IBA website through the Committees.

How can Officers communicate with each other?

Conference calls

The IBA will provide each Committee with dial-in details for conference calls as and when required. To request a dial-in number for a conference call please contact the IBA Divisions Department divisions@int-bar.org with at least 2 days’ notice.

In-person meetings

Committee Chairs are encouraged to organise regular meetings with their fellow Officers and Council Liaison Officers at the IBA Mid-Year Council Meetings and/or the IBA Annual Conference. Please contact the Divisions Department at divisions@int-bar.org to request a meeting room or for information on Officer retreats.

How can a Committee add content to its Committee pages?

A Website Officer for the Committee will usually be appointed, and this person will liaise with other Committee officers and the IBA Web Editor to help keep Committee pages up to date in showing, for example, links to any Committee conferences, projects and publications. Updates will be made by the IBA Web Editor.

• See further information about Committee pages and the role of the Website Officer under the tab 'Officer roles and responsibilities' in this guide.

The IBA continues to invest in improvements to the web platform, both in functionality and usability. We are always keen to hear ideas on how the site can be improved and all input is welcome.

The IBA monitors the entire website, including Committee sites, for appropriateness and consistency on an on-going basis.

Only events/activities/projects planned/organised together with the IBA can be promoted as a Committee event, and only those will be communicated and promoted to the Committee membership.

How do I send email communications to my Committee?

For any publications-specific emails (such as calls for articles or book publishing updates), please contact your IBA in-house editor, or, if you are unsure who this person is, contact editor@int-bar.org.

The IBA’s rules around the transfer of personal data to IBA officers have not changed since the introduction of GDPR. All communication with membership continues to go through the Divisions (or other relevant departments) at the IBA. This is so that the IBA can monitor emails sent to members and oversee email communications under UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) to monitor the level, frequency and relevance of communications with members. 

By this method, the most up to date member data is used.

GDPR also requires that any form of mass email or any systematic processing of a member’s personal data resulting in emails being sent, would require that the email’s recipient can access the IBA marketing preference centre so they can opt out of receiving further emails. They should also have access to the IBA Privacy Policy. Emails from Committee Officers, which are sent from their email addresses, will not contain these and are not linked to the preference centre, which is a breach of GDPR.

For example, most emails sent to the full Committee or entity should go through the Divisions Department. Please send the content of the email and who the email should go to and the Divisions Department will coordinate the mailing for you.

Any requests to promote activities by an entity other than the IBA or one of its constituents must be assessed by the IBA Marketing Department.

Only events/activities/projects planned/organised together with the IBA can be promoted as a Committee event, and only those will be communicated and promoted to the Committee membership.

How can I access my Committee's membership information?

Officers do have the possibility to receive information on their Committee’s membership, and for this to happen, are required to sign a data transfer agreement laying out the conditions of use of that data, if they request access to their Committee’s membership data, before the data is released to them. 

IBA policy remains that the lists of members supplied to Officers do not include contact information such as email and phone. This policy is to protect the IBA member’s personal data from misuse or being passed to third parties.

To comply with GDPR, the IBA passes member data to Committees' Senior Officers and Conference Chairs upon the signature of a data release form that outlines the IBA terms of transfer of the data. These conditions are:

• The data cannot be added to any other database
• The data is used for specific purpose of the transfer eg. to assist conference marketing
• The data will be destroyed after use
• The period of the use of the data is restricted
• The data cannot be shared with anyone else

All Committee Chairs (both Co-Chairs must sign and return forms to receive data) and Membership Officers are sent the data release form to sign and return at the start of their term. This will allow for lists of new Committee members to automatically be sent in the beginning of each new month and/or allow us to provide the full list of members immediately when it is requested. 

If the form has not been returned, only the basic list of members (gender, firm, location) will be shared. 

When a request for a list is received and we do not have a signed data release form from the Senior Officer requesting the information, we will send the form asking that it be signed and returned before the data can be shared.

The IBA will not send multiple follow-up emails chasing Committee Officers to sign and return forms.

Where do I find an online member list?

Committee membership lists and individual Committee members can always be searched using the membership directory search, which can be accessed by all members through their MyIBA account.  

The directory can be searched using any or all of the following criteria and will produce a list of all members who fit the criteria selected:

• Given name
• Family name
• Firm name
• City
• Country
• Area of practice

Committee ← by searching using the Committee field only will produce results for everyone who is a member of the Committee selected.

The contact information for individual members who show in the search results can be viewed and they can then be contacted on a person-to-person basis. 

Members have the option to hide their profile in the members search, effectively opting out.

The membership directory and the results are protected by a security system to prevent automated scraping of the data. Data security measures of this kind are required under Data Protection Legislation and GDPR.

How and when can Officers meet?

Committees are encouraged to organise Open Committee Business Meetings at the time of the IBA Annual Conference and/or their specialist Committee Conferences to meet with members and those interested in the Committee.

To organise a meeting please email the IBA Divisions Department at divisions@int-bar.org who will assist in scheduling the meeting, allocating a meeting room and ensuring that your members are informed of such meeting taking place.

The Section on Public and Professional Interest (SPPI) promotes an interchange of information and views among its members about the public and professional interest activities of the legal profession throughout the world; to support and promote those activities; to facilitate communication among its members and to be active in the Section through its committees and other groupings; and to undertake such related projects as may be approved from time to time by the SPPI’s Council.

There are two principal Officers of the Section: the Chair and Secretary-Treasurer. The duties of the Officers can be found in detail in the SPPI by-laws which can be found here.

How are the SPPI Council Officers elected?

The Principal Officers of the SPPI may co-opt up to seven other members of the Council. Three of the seven other members should be individual members of the IBA having a longstanding involvement and experience of senior positions in the Association; three of the seven other members shall be a current (for that two-year term) or immediate past Chair or Co-Chairs of an SPPI Committee; and one the seven other members shall be a representative of the Legal Practice Division (LPD).

How are the SPPI Committee Officers elected?

• All Committee Officer appointments must be approved by the SPPI Chair and processed administratively via the Divisions Department at the IBA office;
• Recommendations for Officers must be submitted in writing by the Committee Chair / Co-Chairs to the SPPI Administrator at the appropriate time as indicated in their emails to Committee Chairs, and in any event no later than the end of October each year;
• When submitting recommendations for Officers who have not previously served in the Committee, the Committee Chair should include brief biographical details of the candidates including his/her professional achievements, and details of their contribution to the committee to date;
• Recommendations for promotion within the Committee (e.g. moving from Secretary to Vice-Chair) should be justified by the Committee Chair through a short explanatory note taking into account the general objectives indicated above;
• A nominee for Committee Chair must previously have served as a Vice-Chair, except in extraordinary circumstances;
• 'Second careers' will be discouraged by the SPPI Chair at all times. For example, a Committee Vice-Chair who is not being promoted up the ladder may not be nominated as a Subcommittee Officer, nor have a new position created for him or her, once their term as Vice-Chair has expired. Additionally, an Officer may not begin a new career in another SPPI committee after completing the ladder in a committee’s leadership.
• Key points to note when nominating new officers:
  • No law firm or alliance of firms may have more than one Officer on the slate at any given time.
  • Officers may not move down the slate to a lower position.
  • Officers may not serve more than one two-year term in the same position.
  • Gender and geographical representation is mandatory and must be reflected in the leadership
• All appointments will start on 1 January for a two-year term.
  • Chairs/Co-Chairs are reminded they that must forward officer nominations for any subcommittee active within their constituent
  • Chairs/Co-Chairs are encouraged to discuss their proposed nominations with their SPPI Council Liaison Officer(s) prior to submission
  Once an Officer nomination has been approved and added to the IBA system, the Officer will receive an automated email from the IBA office which confirms their appointment and provides important information.

An SPPI Council member is appointed to each Committee as Council Liaison Officer (CLO) to encourage and support Committee activities, and to help provide guidance to the Committee Officers regarding the policies of the SPPI/IBA, give support to the Officers in the Committee and increase the effectiveness of the individual Committees.

The CLO will work together with the Divisions Manager and other staff in the IBA office, as well as the SPPI Officers, and will assist in supporting the Committee in the following ways:

General support

• Helping Committees coordinate their activities;
• Aiding in the effort to have free-flowing and effective communication between the Committees;
• Working with Committees to retain members and to attract new members, and to ensure effective communication with existing members;
• Encouraging the Committees to discuss potential activities, and ways of increasing their appeal and value to members;
• Offer advice on increasing communication to and engagement with the Committee membership;
• Review and approval of each Committee business plan;
• Working with the Committees to track their activities against the stated goals in their business plans, and to encourage them to meet and exceed their planned goals;
• Assisting with communication with other bodies within the Association, where relevant;
• Join meetings of the SPPI Officers with the Committee leadership as and when needed;
• Helping Committee officers understand SPPI/IBA policies and helping to ensure compliance, as well as bringing to the staff and SPPI Officers’ attention any policies that are creating challenges for Committees.

Committee nominations

• Helping the Committee Chair to ensure diversity of gender and geography within the Committee leadership, and ensuring there is no bias towards one firm or alliance, by reviewing Committee nominations prior to submission to the IBA office;
• Assisting the SPPI Officers in identifying nominees for Committee Officer positions.

Annual Conference Session Planning

• Working with Committee Chairs to ensure that the chosen topics and speakers vary each year;
• Checking that the Committee’s programme for the Annual Conference is of appropriate size and scope;
• Attending the Committee sessions during the conference where possible, to report on particularly successful formats and topics, and to help improve quality and content where needed;
• Helping Chairs ensure that the suggested speakers are appropriately diverse in gender and geography;
• Helping to implement the policy of no more than one representative per firm or alliance in each session regardless of the role;
• Helping to ensure that the Committee programme overall does not have over-representation by any one firm or alliance;
• Working with Committee Chairs to create programmes designed to provide a high quality, interactive experience for attendees;
• Reviewing the proposed Committee sessions to assist with the above.

Specialist conferences

• Providing any needed guidance (budget, programme, sponsorship etc.) with conferences organised by the Committee;
• Helping to clarify and implement IBA policies;
• Attending, wherever possible, the Committee conference.

Publications and website

• Assisting the Committee as needed in the production of a comprehensive publications programme;
• Encouraging the Committee to keep its website up to date and providing ideas or assistance as needed.

The CLO will report on each Committee’s activity at each meeting of the SPPI Council, so that the entire SPPI Council will be aware of the exciting work being done within the Committees and to ensure that good ideas are replicated and connections between Committees are being made where applicable.

All SPPI Committees are listed on the SPPI homepage

SPPI Home

Some Committees find it useful to establish Subcommittees. Within the SPPI, a Subcommittee must address a specific substantive area of law (i.e., not serve as conference organising teams or publications teams). Subcommittees do not have separate membership lists on the IBA database. Subcommittees do not have a separate budget and must apply to the parent Committee Chair for any funds required to perform its work. No funds will be made available without this approval.

With the prior approval of the parent Committee and notification of the Divisions Manager Administration Subcommittees may engage in any activity, including producing publications, organising specialist conferences and holding meetings at the annual conferences.

All Officer positions of Subcommittees are for a two-year term, and nomination of Officers follows the same process as Committee Officers.

A Committee may have project-based work it feels would be best accomplished through the formation of a Working Group, which consists of a selection of people collaborating to achieve a specific goal within a pre-determined timeline. Working Groups only exist for the duration of the project, and following the conclusion all officer positions will reach completion as well.

Subcommittees and Working Groups as well as their Officers will be noted on the parent Committee website and Officer titles will be listed in the IBA online directory.

Subcommittees and Working Groups must:

• serve as an intrinsic part of the Committees within which they are formed and administered;
• be established by written approval of the SPPI Chair;
• be reported to the SPPI Council at its next meeting;
• have its own Officers who are nominated by the parent Committee Chair and approved by the SPPI Chair.

An Advisory Board is meant as an idea-engine, a group of valued volunteers who have rotated off the governing Committee and wish to stay connected to the entity, and all those Committee members, who wish to and can bring helpful resources of time, talent, and treasure to the Committee. Members of an Advisory Board should be willing to take on specific tasks to support your activities, or provide informed input as you plan new activities.

When setting up an Advisory Board, or planning succession of Advisory Board members, please note the following criteria that apply:

• Candidates for the Advisory Board should be past Committee Chairs, Officers not looking to continue as an Officer and rotating off, any candidate who will continue to make / has made a contribution to the Committee and its initiatives.
• Advisory Board members will need to be approved by the Section Officers, just like regular Committee Officers.
• The number of members on an Advisory Board at one time is limited to ten (unless a request to increase the number can be justified, which will be considered by the Section leadership).
• Advisory Board members must attend at least one meeting (Mid-Year / Annual Conference) over the two year term and in addition participate in regular conference calls or attend conferences by their Committee/Fora.
• All members of the Advisory Board will serve a one-time term of two years.
• If the term is to be extended, a proof of contribution to Committee work and attendance at meetings/conferences will be required.

In ordinary circumstances each Committee or entity is expected to have the following Officer positions. Officers may serve for one two-year term in each position. In only very exceptional circumstances an Officer may continue for a second term. This should be discussed with the SPPI Chair and the committee’s CLO. All Committee Officers are expected to attend the twice-yearly meetings of the SPPI Council, Committee and Other Entities’ Officers.

By accepting the appointment as an Officer of any IBA Committee, Subcommittee, working group or advisory board, all Officers automatically agree to their contact details being published on the IBA website, as part of the Officer listings on the committee webpages.

Information on external communication by Officers can be found further down under Media>Spokesperson.

The responsibilities of each position are detailed below:

Chair / Co-Chairs (This position is mandatory and must be filled.)

It is most likely that the Chair (and in the case of Co-Chairs, at least one Co-Chair) will have reached this position through the ladder structure for Committee Officers.

The role of Chair will include:

• developing a strategy and a activity plan for the Committee, in conjunction with other Officers and the Committee’s CLO, by the end of November each year;
• updating the Committee activity plan to indicate progress against planned goals and new activities not previously included;
• submitting nominations, by October each year at the latest, for Committee Officers for the next term to the Division Chair;
• overall responsibility for the Committee/other entities’ Annual Conference programme, including the appointment and supervision of session Chairs;
• responsibility for the appointment of Officers and/or members to organise any specialist conferences or to contribute to conferences by other Committees or entities as requested;
• liaising with the IBA office on any special projects being run by the Committee and supervising tasks delegated to other Officers as necessary;
• attending the twice-yearly meetings of the SPPI Council, Committee and Other Entities’ Officers;
• welcome messages to new Committee members will automatically be sent out on behalf of the Committee Chairs/Co-Chairs.

Senior Vice-Chair or Vice-Chairs (This position is mandatory and there must be one Vice-Chair at minimum)

Senior Vice-Chairs and Vice-Chairs act as deputies for the Committee Chair if he / she is unable to act or is not available. In addition, their responsibilities may include:

• chairing sessions during the Annual Conferences, and therefore assuming responsibility for identifying and liaising with speakers and providing the IBA office with programme copy;
• working with the other Committee Officers to identify and lead special projects, other than conferences and publications, which help raise the profile of the Committee and engage Committee members;
• organisation of specialist conferences, liaising with other individuals as necessary;
• special remits as designated by the Chair, which could include activities for young  lawyers, conferences, membership;
• attending the twice-yearly meetings of the SPPI Council, Committee and Other Entities’ Officers.

Secretary, Treasurer, or Secretary-Treasurer

The Secretary-Treasurer’s duties may include:

• organising annual or bi-annual meetings of the Committee Officers; liaising with the IBA office on sending out of emails and communications to Committee members;
• if desirable, organising a Committee retreat at time of Annual Conference (where costs are borne by individuals);
• monitoring the Committee budget and ensuring activities are planned in accordance with available funds.
• attending the twice-yearly meetings of the SPPI Council, Committee and Other Entities’ Officers.

Communications Officer

For more information on Committee communications, please see the Publications and Committee websites section below. The Communications Officer’s responsibilities may include:

• liaising with the IBA office on all publications to be produced by the Committee;
• helping to source suitable authors and articles for the Committee’s web pages, bulletins and newsletters;
• appointing rapporteurs for any specialist conferences organised by the Committee and ensuring that a report is included on Committee publications pages, e-bulletins and newsletters;
• working with the IBA Content Department on books published by the Committee;
• liaising with the IBA Content Department on timing of publication production at the beginning of each year;
• ensuring that copy is received on time;
• providing the IBA Office with items of interest for the IBA e-news and for the IBA magazine Global Insight;
• attending the twice yearly meetings of the SPPI Council, Committee and Other Entities’ Officers.

Website Officer (This position is mandatory and must be filled)

General information

Committee Officer pages, available on each Committee website, provide details and contact information for each Officer within the Committee and any Subcommittees of that group. The information available is the officer’s position, name, firm name and address, and email address and can be used by the Committees to create their own email distribution list for Officers, or used by existing / potential members to reach out to the Committee’s leadership. By accepting appointment as an Officer, Officers agree to their contact details being made available on the IBA website through the Committees.

A full list of Committees and other equivalent IBA entities can be viewed here.

While IBA staff provide technical support for the update of Committee webpages, it is entirely the responsibility of the Committee Website Officer to provide current information to IBA staff and to ensure that outdated information is removed by reviewing the page on a regular basis.

The Website Officer position should not be combined with other positions if possible

It is not recommended, except for very small Committees (ie under 100 members), that this position be combined with other positions. The IBA website has undergone significant development, to keep up with current technology and to make the website a portal for all IBA communication as is fitting given the current use of the internet as a primary media and research resource. Therefore, this is an important role that will continue to grow in significance.

Some Committee Chairs express that they find it difficult to fill this role.

Two suggestions to assist:

• a Vice-Chair may have responsibility for website update as part of his or her mandate; or
• many Committees have indicated that the recipients of scholarships often make excellent Website Officers. The Young Lawyers’ Committee has also offered assistance to the other Committees and entities within the division to identify keen and active individuals to take on the role.

Information on Website Officer role

A Website Officer for the Committee will be appointed to help keep Committee pages up to date in showing, for example, links to any Committee conferences, projects and publications. Updates will be made by the IBA Web and Multimedia Editor.

The Website Officer should familiarise themselves with, and ensure that their fellow Officers are aware of, their Committee pages. The pages typically feature the pictures and names of the Co-Chairs, a brief description of the Committee and a link to the full Officer list; further information about the Committee; tabs for recent information on such things as Committee conferences, publications, projects, and joining the Committee (the exact configuration of tabs may depend on the Committee in question).

The Website Officer duties may include:

• monitoring content of the Committee webpage on a regular basis, to ensure the information is still current and to ensure that any outdated information is removed;
• encouraging fellow Officers to provide photographs of officers to be included in the IBA database and on the committee webpage;
• providing links of interest to lawyers in the field to be included on the Committee webpage;
• providing text and other details for any Committee project or task force that should be included on the Committee webpage; (NB Only events/activities/projects planned/organised together with the IBA can be promoted as a Committee event, and only those will be communicated and promoted to the Committee membership.
• providing advance notice of the above;
• providing any other items of interest that should be included on the Committee webpage;
• sharing ideas for the Committee pages
• attending twice-yearly meetings which should be held at the IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings and IBA Annual Conference.

Articles

Committee members are welcome to submit appropriate articles to their Publications Officer and/or Website Officer for inclusion on the site. Please see 'Publications and Committee websites - Committee news, articles and updates' in this guide.

While IBA staff provide technical support for the update of Committee webpages, it is entirely the responsibility of the Committee Website Officer to provide current information to IBA staff and to ensure that outdated information is removed by reviewing the page on a regular basis.

Film

It may be possible for Committees to post film relating to their Committee to their web pages, for example, information about forthcoming conferences. This should be discussed in the first instance with the IBA.

Membership Officer

The Membership Officer’s duties may include:

1. Establishing and maintaining relations with members of the Committee, to encourage their participation and involvement, and to incorporate their feedback into Committee activities;
2. Ensuring that new members receive the letter of welcome from the Committee Chair;
3. Identifying steps to retain members and to increase membership
4. Increasing and maintaining diversity of membership of their Committees’ panels, working closely with the Committee leadership and the D&I Officer and, including diversity of geography, culture, race, gender, age and ability, in membership, in leadership, and in participation in Committee programmes and other activities.

Conference Quality Officer

The ultimate mandate of the Conference Quality Officer is to transform the issue of conference quality into an ongoing dialogue between Committees so they can benefit from each others’ experience. Although the mandate is likely to evolve over time, the immediate responsibilities are to:

1. Encourage the Committees to use alternative presentation formats.
2. Encourage the Committees to adopt skills based sessions.
3. Increasing and maintaining diversity of membership of the committees’ panels, working closely with the committee leadership and the D&I Officer and, including diversity of geography, culture, race, gender, age and ability, in membership, in leadership, and in participation in committee programmes and other activities.
4. Act as a resource for finding women panellists where needed.
5. Encourage speakers to prepare papers.
6. Promote publication of papers in IBA journals, on Committee websites and other fora.
7. Encourage session planning for Annual Conferences at an early stage.
8. Attend meetings of all Conference Quality Officers at Mid-Year Leadership Meetings and at the annual meetings to share experiences, develop conference quality issues.
9. Pass information from these sessions on to their Committees, session Chairs and speakers.
10. Encourage greater CLE accreditation for session programs.

Diversity and Inclusion Officer

1. Uphold and promote the IBA Diversity and Inclusion policy on behalf of your Committee, in particular, in terms of (1) membership, (2) Officer slate and (3) panel speakers, communicating the status of your Committee and any concerns through your Committee Leadership to the D&I Council Communications Working Group, even do so directly to the latter where the concerns relate to the Committee Leadership. The D&I Council Communications Working Group will review the concerns and if necessary escalate them to the D&I Council and will also review any lessons learnt, in order to continue aligning IBA culture and practice with the Diversity and Inclusion policy.
2. Challenge discriminatory practice (see guidance on such practice below) that you witness within your Committee and the Association.
3. Seek out the views of your Committee members on diversity and inclusion within the Committee and the Association to feed back to the D&I Council Communications Working Group.
4. Work with the relevant Division and Section leads to review whether the diverse makeup of your Committee is reflective of the geographical and gender diversity of the Association as a whole and if not, how this might be improved.
5. Promote this lessening of unconscious bias through Officer diversity and inclusion training ('Coassemble' offered by Symmetra), reflection and engaging in discussion and other opportunities for practical learning within the Association. Engage in continuous learning on diversity and inclusion. Encourage your committee’s officers to complete Coassemble, and report the status of your committee in this regard to D&I Council.
6. Report updates to your respective Committee regarding diversity and inclusion as a specific agenda item.

Download further information on the Diversity and Inclusion Officer role here.

Other Officers

Other positions within the Committee are subject to the approval of the SPPI leadership and the role must be clearly defined. For database purposes, you may be asked to modify a proposed Officer title into a category already existing.

Every Committee and other entity must complete a Committee activity plan each year, laying out their plans for that year. The SPPI Administrator will provide a template for your convenience in planning. It is the responsibility of the Committee Chair(s) to ensure that the completed activity plan is delivered to the SPPI Administrator by the specified date. These are then used by the SPPI Officers to review activities by all Committees and other entities and to coordinate activities and priorities across the Division.

IBA Committees are encouraged to undertake projects on matters relevant to their area of expertise, as part of creating value for their committee members, and the IBA as a whole. A project may be undertaken by a single committee, or in collaboration with other IBA committees or external organisations. Examples of projects include legal toolkits, model statutes or rules, model contracts, reports, submissions to external consultation processes, and guidance notes.

Any project proposed by a committee must first be approved by the leadership of the relevant division (ie. LPD, SPPI or BIC) (Division Leadership) prior to any further commitments and plans being made as part of the project. To assist the Division Leadership to understand the nature and finer details of the project proposed, we ask that you complete this form and submit via email (divisions@int-bar.org).

Committees who are considering undertaking a project should consider whether the project would benefit from support from the IBA Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU). Click here for information about how the LPRU can support your project.

The Association’s annual budget is prepared by senior members of staff in the IBA office, with the consultation of and under the supervision of the IBA Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and Division Officers.

The IBA office costs are spread across all component parts of the Association. Staff time based on time sheets submitted by all staff is allocated to each specific activity (e.g. specialist conference, specific marketing campaign, journal production etc.) which in turn is allocated to the relevant division.

The Treasurers discuss the budget in December when there is a clear picture of how the Association has fared financially in the current year, given the reliance on income such as membership dues, conference and journal income and sponsorship. Following the Treasurers’ meeting, the budget is submitted to the February meeting of the IBA Management Board. Once approved by the Management Board, it is distributed to the IBA, LPD and SPPI Councils at the IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings.

The Management Board agrees the percentage share of costs between the two divisions. This is reviewed annually to ensure a fair and proportionate allocation of costs.

When are the IBA accounts prepared?

Annual audited accounts are submitted to the IBA Council at the Mid-Year Leadership Meetings for approval each year. IBA accounts staff also prepare quarterly accounts which are made available to the IBA Treasurers and the Management Board. Half-yearly accounts are circulated to the LPD and SPPI Councils and Committee Officers.

The SPPI budget is prepared based on the projected expenditure for all planned activity during the following year, to be submitted by the Committee and other entities’ Chairs by November of each year, as well as a fair allocation of funds determined by the SPPI Officers and the IBA Treasurer. Considerations include whether or not the Committee or other entity is a ‘status’ one i.e. of extreme importance to a specific group of members such as the Women Lawyers’ Committee even if perhaps there is no major activity or conference planned, or a ‘content’ one, i.e. Law Firm Management Committee, which is extremely active and gets involved in various projects and conferences on a regular basis.

The size of each Committee’s membership and recent activity within the Committee are taken into consideration when deciding the amount allocated. It is the responsibility of the Committee Chair(s) to ensure that a completed business plan for each calendar year is submitted to the London office as soon as practical after the Association’s Annual Conference, and no later than mid-November.

All Committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.

General activities which may be covered by the Committee budget includes, but is not limited to, costs related to the following:

• Costs associated with the execution of special projects

• Scholarship

  Please see the Scholarship section under Young Lawyers Initiatives below to find out how to organise this with the IBA office.

• Speaker expenses for the IBA Annual Conference

  For guidance regarding the specific rules concerning speaker expenses during the Annual Conference, please see contact Divisions Manager. Note that reimbursement for travel and accommodation is not offered to lawyers in private practice.

• One Officer’s retreat per year

  The Committee budget will cover the cost of one officer’s retreat per year. The Committee budget will cover meeting room hire, any audio-visual requirements, coffee breaks and a working lunch (sandwich/buffet) at the meeting venue. Prior to entering into any agreement with a venue, the IBA Divisions Department must be notified of the following:

  • the proposed venue;
  • the invitation list; and
  • an estimate of the total cost.

  No reimbursement for accommodation and travel is made to any Committee Officer attending retreats. Please note: retreats are organised by the Committee and not the IBA Office. Reimbursement will be made following the retreat upon submission of a receipt to the IBA by the Committee Chair or a nominated Officer. Further information can be found in the Officer retreat section below.

• One annual Committee Officers’ dinner or lunch

  If a Committee wishes to hold an Officers’ dinner, a sample menu needs to be submitted to the Divisions Manager beforehand.

  Since the majority of Officers’ dinners are held around the time of the Annual Conference, the IBA is unable to provide administrative support for these events, which we recommend be undertaken by the Secretary of the Committee or another Officer. The Committees cannot contract an agent to undertake these tasks as these costs would not be covered by the IBA.

  Based on reasonable costs in the city where the conference is located, the IBA Divisions Department will fix a per-person cost, which will be reimbursed for the Committee’s current Officers, current Council Liaison Officer and past chairs ONLY

  Please be advised that spouses, partners, past officers other than Chairs, and officers from other Committees (unless the lunch or dinner is a joint event) will not be reimbursed.

  Committees can apply for overspend if they can't find a restaurant within budget due to location of the event at which they have selected to host their dinner/lunch alongside (usually the Annual Conference or specialist Committee conference).

• Committee dinner tickets at the Annual Conference

  Where applicable, a Committee Chair may request a maximum of 5 complimentary tickets to a social function (lunch or dinner) organised by the Committee during the IBA Annual Conference. These tickets are for use by keynote speakers. No complimentary tickets will be offered to lawyers in private practice.

• Attendance at meetings of other organisations

  The Committee budget may provide a contribution of £350 towards the expenses of attendance for a Committee Officer attending a meeting of another organisation with which his/her Committee has links or wishes to establish links. The contribution will be sent once a short written report of the meeting has been submitted to the SPPI administrator.

  Attendance at meetings of any world organisation (such as any part of the United Nations) at which the Officer will be representing himself or herself as part of the IBA must be confirmed, prior to attendance, with the Divisions Manager.

• Reimbursement of Committee Officers’ office costs (i.e. postage, courier, telephone)

  Note: no reimbursement for accommodation or travel is made to any Committee Officer attending IBA meetings. This includes IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings, the Annual Conference, specialist conferences organised by the Committee, and Committee retreats.

  The exceptions are as follows:

  • Only the Chair (or Co-Chairs) of a Committee, will be considered for a waived registration fee to attend the IBA Annual Conference and only if they are a full time academic, judge or working for an NGO and not in private practice.
  • Only the Chair (or Co-Chairs) from the relevant Committee will be considered for a waived registration fee to attend their Specialist Conference and only if they are a full time academic, judge or working for an NGO and not in private practice.

All Committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.

For any queries, please contact Susan Burkert at susan.burkert@int-bar.org

You may receive information about the amount allocated to the Committee budget for the current year, or the current status of your Committee budget, by writing to the SPPI Administrator. No under-spend by a Committee or section will be carried over to the following year.

Committees and entities are requested to ensure that the Divisions Manager is made aware of any planned expenditures prior to the expense being incurred. This helps the IBA staff monitor anticipated expenditures in order to prevent accidental overspend.

Do Subcommittees/Working Groups have budgets?

Subcommittees/Working Groups do not have budgets and must fund activities through the relevant committee budget. Subcommittee/Working Group Officers may claim for reimbursement of office expenses incurred during the course of the year only with the express agreement of the relevant Committee Chair.

In 2007 the IBA’s Management Board took the decision to place, on an annual basis, part of any year-end surplus which may arise into an “Special Projects Fund”. The monies in this fund can be used to augment the Association’s work, over and above those items contained in its usual expenditure budgets.

More information on the Special Projects Fund

How do Committees make a request for reimbursement of expenses?

All requests for reimbursement of budgeted expenses must be made in writing to the Divisions Manager and accompanied by relevant receipts and documentation. Failure to produce the supporting documentation will mean that the IBA is unable to authorise the claim. All claims should be made during the current financial year, and by 31 December at the latest. It will be difficult to reimburse claims made after the end of the financial year.

Can Committees underwrite costs for social events?

With the exception of the annual Committee Officers’ lunch/dinner, all Committee social functions must be self-financing. No Committee Officer is authorised to commit IBA funds to underwrite any event. The conferences and sponsorship departments are happy to work with Committee Officers to ensure that the cost of events will be covered through tickets and registration fees, and to ensure that the IBA faces no financial liabilities.

The SPPI Officers will retain the authority to make exceptions on ad ad-hoc basis to the above stated policy at their discretion. Any requests to deviate from the policy should be submitted in writing from the Committee Chair to the Divisions Manager who will submit the request to the SPPI Officers for their review and consideration.

Can Committees claim expenses for publications?

Committee news and publications are produced in electronic format online as standard, which carries no additional cost to the Committee. If a printed newsletter is required, newsletter printing and postage costs will be charged to the respective Section or Committee budget. Please note that newsletters for Sections or Committees with fewer than 500 members are only distributed electronically and are not printed in hard copy.

Publication costs should be confirmed with the Editorial Assistant (editor@int-bar.org) and the Divisions Manager.

If a Committee is thinking about making an application for funding from an outside grantor, the chair must first discuss it with the Divisions Manager to ensure it does not conflict with the IBA’s overall grant application scheme.

If a Committee wishes to hold an officer retreat, the IBA will cover the cost of the meeting room hire, AV and tea and coffee refreshments. A light sandwich lunch (considered a working lunch) will also be covered by the IBA. The IBA will sign a contract and pay in advance the costs of the above only if requested however it is usually easier if an Officer takes care of payment and IBA reimburses after the meeting.

If a Committee wishes to hold an Officers’ dinner, a sample menu needs to be submitted to the Divisions Manager beforehand, and a per-person amount will then be set.

Prior to entering into any agreement with a venue, the IBA Divisions Department must be notified of the following:

• the proposed venue;
• the invitation list; and
• an estimate of the total cost.

No reimbursement for accommodation and travel is made to any Committee Officer attending retreats. Please note: Retreats are organised by the Committee and not the IBA Office. Reimbursement will be made following the retreat upon submission of a receipt to the IBA by the Committee Chair or a nominated Officer.

The IBA will not sign contracts that deal with accommodation for the retreat guests nor will the IBA be the guarantee for these room costs or pay deposits.

Since the majority of Retreats are held around the time of the Annual Conference, the IBA is unable to provide administrative support for these events, which we recommend be undertaken by the Secretary of the Committee or another Officer. The Committees cannot contract an agent to undertake these tasks as these costs would not be covered by the IBA.

The IBA will gladly circulate information regards the retreat to the Committee Members if they are open for member participation also.

If a committee wishes to hold an offices’ dinner, the IBA will pay up to a maximum of £120 per head, including drinks. A sample menu needs to be submitted to the Divisions Manager beforehand, and a per-person amount will then be set. Please email Susan Burkert Susan.Burkert@int-bar.org. The IBA will sign a contract and pay in advance the costs of the above only if requested however it is usually easier an officer takes care of payment and IBA reimburses after the meeting

Since the majority of Officers’ dinners are held around the time of the Annual Conference, the IBA is unable to provide administrative support for these events, which we recommend be undertaken by the Secretary of the Committee or another Officer. The Committees cannot contract an agent to undertake these tasks as these costs would not be covered by the IBA.

Please be advised that spouses, partners, past Officers other than Chairs, and Officers from other Committees (unless the lunch or dinner is a joint event) will not be reimbursed.

The IBA organises over fifty specialist and regional conferences each year in addition to the Annual Conference and the costs involved are very considerable. In order to contain those costs, the IBA through the guidelines set out in the division handbooks has established well defined rules that must be followed so as to ensure that there is conformity in determining to what costs the IBA may be exposed in relation to any particular event.

The rules are detailed and deal with many issues including registration fee waivers, speakers’ expenses and entertainment costs. The rules have served the IBA well in the past and are appropriate for the future.

The PPID is committed to ensure the highest quality of programmes and calibre of speakers at the sessions that it promotes. There is concern amongst the PPID officers that the current policies sometimes stand in the way of putting on the highest quality sessions. A relaxation of the rules is desirable from time to time to enable certain costs to be paid that are likely to lead to enrichment of the quality of a programme. It is clear that it may sometimes be advantageous to pay certain costs outside the guidelines; for example, to a world business leader, regulator, to some academics or NGO representatives, if it can be demonstrated that such a payment is likely to enrich the programme and increase the quality of the relevant session.

The PPID officers, the IBA President and the Executive Director recommend the creation of a fund to cover on an exceptional basis, expenses and other matters related to PPID sessions which are not permitted by the guidelines set out in the PPID Handbook.

The fund shall cover exceptional expenses to secure speakers as well as expenses incurred by speakers and organisers of sessions at the PPID specialist and regional conferences and PPID sessions at the Annual Conferences. An application to the Fund shall be made by an officer of the relevant PPID committee to the IBA Treasurer, who in consultation with the other PPID officers, shall have absolute discretion to agree to pay part of or the entire sum sought or to decline the application.

Sessions

1. Session planning for an Annual Conference begins approximately 13 months beforehand. Committees are asked to submit their proposed session titles on the Wednesday of the current Annual Conference. These titles are then discussed in the Council, Committee and Forum Officers’ meeting on the Friday of the Annual Conference.
2. Committees will then receive communication from the IBA Divisions team advising of the deadline for the session descriptions and supporting Committee names. This is usually 6 weeks after submission of the session titles.
3. The Divisions team will send Committees several drafts of the preliminary programme and will provide amendment deadlines in their correspondence. It is extremely important the Committees adhere to these deadlines. Committees are asked to carefully go through these draft preliminary programmes to ensure that their sessions are listed correctly and that there are no topic overlaps. It is also an opportunity for Committees to reach out to the organisers of sessions that they would like to participate in.
4. During the last week of the year, the session schedule is created. This is then sent to the Committees for their feedback in the second week of January.
5. Committees then have up until the 1st of March to make changes to their sessions. After this date, the final production process for the preliminary programme is started and changes will only be made on the online searchable programme which is found on the Annual Conference website.
6. The process of putting together the final programme begins in June. Committees are able to continue make changes to their sessions and will receive correspondence from the Divisions team with deadlines. Once the deadline is reached for the final programme, any further changes will only be made on the online searchable programme

Housekeeping emails

The Divisions team will send all Committees housekeeping emails, usually in May. These emails contain important links and deadlines for Committee sessions. Please ensure that you adhere to these deadlines as there are strict timelines in place.

Frequently asked questions

The Divisions team has created a webpage for speaker FAQs and Session Chair FAQs. We highly recommend that you visit these webpages should you be participating on a session panel.

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Should you have any questions, please email divisions@int-bar.org

Committees and Entities are strongly encouraged to hold a specialist conference each year outside of the IBA Annual Conference. If your Committee is considering organising a conference, you should complete a conference proposal form.

No Committee should hold a conference other than one relating to the particular field of law with which that Committee is concerned. Ideally Committee members should be canvassed by the Committee Chair, listing the proposed subject matter, venue and time of year, and asking if Committee members would wish to attend such an event.

The IBA reserves the right to take the final decision on whether a conference may be organised, including matters of venue, time of year, and viability of a proposed topic. Conferences need to support themselves financially, and any decision on whether or not to hold a conference will ultimately be taken by the Operations Director, the Conferences Director, Divisions Director and LPD Officers.

Speakers:

• All speakers (including Officers) are asked to pay the registration fee
• Those who request a waived fee (including Officers) but are in private practice, will not be approved (they can, however, attend their session only without paying a fee)
• Those who are not in private practice but are a Committee Officer can submit an application to the Conference Quality Fund to request travel and accommodation expenses, or a waiver of their conference fee, in light of their status as a speaker at that conference, if they do not feel it sufficient to attend their session only.

Delegates

• All delegates (including Officers) should pay the registration fee

All Committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior to these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.

If your Committee is considering organising a conference, you should complete a conference proposal form.

No Committee should hold a conference other than one relating to the particular field of law with which that Committee is concerned. Ideally, Committee members should be canvassed by the Committee Chair, listing the proposed subject matter, venue and time of year, and asking if Committee members would wish to attend such an event.

The IBA reserves the right to take the final decision on whether a conference may be organised, including matters of venue, time of year, and viability of a proposed topic. Conferences need to support themselves financially, and any decision on whether or not to hold a conference will ultimately be taken by the IBA staff and Division Officers.

How do Committees organise a conference?

It is essential that full co-ordination is maintained with the IBA. A proposal including date, venue and topic is to be submitted at least 10 months before it is proposed that the conference take place. Submission at the earliest possible time is encouraged, as conference slots (based on availability of staff) for popular times of year such as March-May are often filled as early as 12 months in advance once approved.

A timetable of action dates will be prepared by the IBA, and regular conference calls will also be scheduled in order to discuss programme and topic / progress of speaker confirmations. The IBA will also prepare a marketing plan, which will be sent to the conference Chair and organising Committee for comments and suggestions.

The conference budget will be prepared by the IBA. Additional expenditure can only be added with prior approval of the IBA Conferences Director. As discussed in the budget section, income from the specialist conference is part of the overall income of the IBA and does not go into the Section or Committee budget.

What is the role of Host/Organising Committees?

The formation of a local Host/Organising Committee is most useful and usually local Committee members are glad to be invited to participate. Their role is to advise on local publicity, social programmes, the names of local dignitaries who should be invited, and sometimes, to find a sponsor(s) for social functions in conjunction with the IBA Head of Advertising and Sponsorship. The IBA may rely quite heavily on the local knowledge and experience of these Committee members, so a level of commitment is needed. Members of the Host/Organising Committee are acknowledged in the conference programme. [Please note: any organising Committee or planning Committee over 10 members shall not receive acknowledgement in the programme.]

Who is responsible for liaising with IBA Staff regarding conferences?

The conference Chair(s) is responsible for liaising with the assigned conference staff on the venue, the marketing plan, the timetable and the programme content. Furthermore, they are responsible for ensuring the IBA conference organiser receives all relevant programme copy, speakers’ details, and any other relevant information for the conference programme by the set deadlines. The conference Chair and Host/Organising Committee members are required to assist the IBA Marketing department with the successful promotion of the conference. The conference Chair and Host/Organising Committee members are expected to register for the conference.

What are the options for organising one or two day conferences?

There are a number of options that Committees wishing to organise conferences may follow, which are outlined below:

Conferences fully organised through IBA offices

With this option the full logistical and financial responsibility for the conference lies with the IBA office. There are many specialist conferences in the IBA calendar that employ this method of working and that have gained “must attend” status in the international legal community. These conferences follow the general rules below:

• IBA appoints a full-time conference team (comprising one manager and one administrator) to the conference who oversee all arrangements in consultation with the conference organising Committee;
• a realistic amount of staff time (charged at £35/hour) is included in the budget;
• the venue is generally a 4-5 star hotel;
•  The conference programme is online-only, and will be circulated to all registered delegates a few days before the beginning of the conference;
• lunch (either 3 courses or a substantial buffet) is offered on one day of the conference;
• coffee breaks include pastries;
• speakers’ papers provided via a website link;
• IBA staff present throughout conference;
• registration fees often include the cost of a cocktail reception.

Conferences fully organised through IBA offices – with lower registration fees

This option is recommended for first-time conferences that have not as yet had a chance to establish a loyal following, or for conferences whose market require a lower registration fee. In attempts to offer registration fees at a slightly lower rate, consideration is given to the following:

• Selection of a reasonably priced venue (i.e. not 4 to 5-star deluxe);
• Standing buffet for lunch rather than sit-down 3 courses;
• Do not offer pastries with coffee / tea or other additional extras;
• Removes all social functions from the budget.
• The Conference Chairs and the Organising Committee members would always be expected to pay the full registration fee for a conference.

Locally organised conference

This option is generally only approved for conferences taking place in locations where the registration fee must be kept to a low level eg. Africa. It requires minimal amount of IBA staff time, but does require dedication and time commitment from Committee members / members of the organising Committee and a local organisation who are responsible for all organisational and logistical arrangements. The IBA office is on hand to provide guidance and advice and retains responsibility for producing the conference programme (in order to provide the IBA branding) but everything else is the responsibility of a local organisation and a local Host Committee. All contracts, budgets and registration fees must be approved by the IBA.

This option does put a huge amount of responsibility and workload on the organisers and must be considered carefully before a commitment is made. However, this is an excellent option to keep registration fees to an absolute minimum. The financial responsibility and profit / loss would be discussed at the outset. Please contact Julie Elliott, the Conferences Director, for more information.

Do conference Chairs and Organising Committees pay registration fees?

The Conference Chair’s registration fees and the Organising Committee members’ registration fees are not waived except when exceptional circumstances prevail and with approval of the IBA Treasurer.

All Committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.

All agreements to hold joint conferences must first be approved by the IBA. The IBA staff will be happy to liaise with the other organisation to determine the feasibility of a joint conference if you provide contact information to the Head of Conferences.

No financial agreements to share profit / loss can be made by conference chairs. A financial split will be agreed by the IBA for those conferences where the administration is either divided or handled by the other organisation. No financial split will be agreed for conferences where the IBA is handling all the administration. IBA sponsorship policy must be implemented at all conferences.

10 months prior to event (or earlier) - COMMITTEE TO ACTION

Committee meet or have a conference call to discuss roles for the conference and to put the conference to the IBA office for approval. It is crucial at this stage for a detailed list of proposed topics to be given to the IBA as this will be used as a main selling tool for marketing and sponsorship.

Successful marketing of an event is dependent on Committees’ assistance in providing personal contacts, organisations or other data which may be used by the IBA marketing department to increase numbers and enhance word-of-mouth on the event .

• This step needs to be completed far in advance so that the IBA staff can schedule it in, discuss locations and get approval.

9 months prior to event – COMMITTEE TO ACTION

Committee to agree topics and speakers (including reserve speakers)

• This should be done so that IBA marketing and sponsorship can then put together marketing and PR plan surrounding the event and to begin looking for sponsors.

8 months prior to event- IBA OFFICE TO ARRANGE CALL

Introduction made between all IBA staff members involved in the conference including Marketing, Divisions, Conferences and Sponsorship teams, and Committee members including conference Chairs.

• To establish who will be looking after what areas, to inform office of speakers and topics and to discuss any further issues.

7.5 months prior to event - COMMITTEE TO ACTION

Speaker invitations to be sent out.

• These need to be sent at this stage so that potential speakers can save the date in their diary

7 months prior to event - IBA OFFICE TO ARRANGE CALL

IBA staff to follow up with Organising Committee on their thoughts on marketing plan and the status of conference topics and speakers.

6.5 months prior to event - COMMITTEE TO ACTION

Committees to follow up on invitations to speakers and issue invitation to speakers on reserve list – also to finalise topic descriptions

• To discuss progress so far, discuss ideas for marketing plan and to give IBA topics and title so marketing can begin.
• Email blast sent out and programme uploaded to the website.

• In case some of our 1st choice speakers cannot attend.

6.5 months prior to the event – IBA MEETING

Marketing to have a meeting with conference organiser and sponsorship to see what is left to do for the conference programme. Review any problems or issues.

• Any issues regarding the programme, speakers, topics, marketing can be flagged up.

6 months prior to the event - IBA OFFICE TO ARRANGE CALL

Final conference call with conference Chairs and Host/Organising Committee members to check progress of programme and confirm delivery of programme.

• Details of mailing dates to be finalised.

5.5 months prior to the event

Final programme due at the IBA office

4.5 months prior to the event – IBA MARKETING TO ACTION

Email blast sent out and programme sent to the printers

4 months prior to the event - IBA MARKETING TO ACTION

Marketing is carried out, including mailings, social media, etc.

The selection and briefing of speakers is the responsibility of the conference Chair(s). When selecting the speakers, the following must be taken into consideration:

• No more than one representative from a firm, or alliance of firms, is permitted in any session, including the session Chair.
• Diversity of geography and gender across your panels is mandatory to ensure the strongest and most international panels we can offer. Each panel must have a fair and balanced representation of speakers.
• Representation from the host country and region is desirable where appropriate.
• It is important however, regardless of diversity issues, not to overload the number of speakers per session, in order to allow a proper analysis and discussion of the topic. This is the most common feedback we receive from delegates, that panels often have too many speakers which does not allow for proper depth of analysis.
• Speakers must be expert in the relevant subject and have a good command of English.
• Speakers should be encouraged to prepare a paper in advance of the conference which can be posted on the IBA website.
• Selecting speakers for an IBA event must NOT be linked to sponsorship discussions or financial arrangements of any kind.

The conference Chair(s) is asked to ensure that the programme demonstrates a fair balance in firm, individual, geographical and gender representation in general. The conference Chair(s) will be requested to correct any over-representation in any of these areas.

Speakers:

• All speakers (including Officers) are asked to pay the registration fee
• Those who request a waived fee (including Officers) but are in private practice, will not be approved (they can, however, attend their session only without paying a fee)
• Those who are not in private practice but are a Committee Officer and request a waived fee can ask the Divisions Officers to make an exception to the policy to have their fee waived in view of their speaker status (to be charged to the Conference Budget) if they do not feel it sufficient to attend their session only.

Can speakers be reimbursed for expenses?

The conference Chair may feel it is vital to the success of a conference that a speaker be present who requires reimbursement of expenses. Provided that there is an item in the conference budget to cover such an expenditure, maximum reimbursement can be as follows (example of the Annual Conference):

• reimbursement of a return economy airfare up to a pre-set maximum amount;
• reimbursement of a pre-set number of nights’ accommodation which will be determined at the time of the request by IBA staff.
• waiver of registration fee.

Speakers in private practice and corporate counsel speakers shall not be reimbursed except in extraordinary circumstances and with the approval of the Division leadership or the IBA Conferences Director.

Do speakers pay the registration fees?

• Speakers who are members of the IBA, or eligible for membership, are normally expected to pay the full registration fee.
• Speakers from private practice will be required to pay the full registration fee regardless of the amount of time they plan to stay at the conference.
• Speakers who are not eligible for membership would not normally be expected to pay a fee.

There may be occasions when exceptions to this policy are appropriate. Exceptions may include speakers who are in-house counsel or regulators.Exceptions cannot be made to those who are in private practice under any circumstances.

For your assistance, we include some additional points that experience has proven to assist in timely delivery of the conference programme:

• Nominate one Committee Officer or member as conference programme coordinator. This person should not be the same person as the conference Chair. Individual ownership of this important task, which includes the logistical administrative end, rather than the ‘vision’ or ‘leadership’ end, usually ensures that the programme is delivered close to the timeline.
• Nominate session moderators, who are then subsequently responsible for sourcing and confirming their speakers to the conference programme coordinator. This effectively distributes the work to more shoulders.
• Plan sessions around a smaller number of speakers. Delegates’ comments consistently suggest that most IBA session panels have too many speakers which they feel leaves inadequate time for exploring the legal issues in appropriate depth, as well as inadequate time for Q & A sessions. Additionally delegates consistently indicate that they want to have adequate time and opportunity to interact, and would prefer to have adequate coffee/tea break times, as well as lunches and dinners without keynote speakers. Excerpts from delegate comments are available from IBA staff if requested.

All Committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.

Committees are encouraged to hold open Committee business meetings at the Annual Conference, to engage with current and potential members. Holding these in direct connection to a conference session is the best way to ensure that those interested in the topic of the Committee’s work are present, and have an opportunity to connect to the Committee and its leadership.

To schedule such a meeting and have it published as part of the official programme, please contact the IBA Divisions team (divisions@int-bar.org) and they will be able to assist you.

No Committee events can be held at law firms at any time.

Committee breakfasts at the Annual Conference

Should a Committee wish to hold a breakfast meeting during the Annual Conference week, the following criteria will apply:

• The breakfast is held at the venue of the IBA Annual Conference.
• These events are not ticketed and require sponsorship to cover the costs
• The Committee selects the appropriate sponsorship package depending on expected number of people, and then works closely with the IBA sponsorship team to secure the appropriate amount of sponsorship.

Please contact the IBA Divisions team (divisions@int-bar.org) for further assistance should you wish to organise a breakfast. Your contact for sponsorship is Andrew Webster-Dunn (andrew.webster-dunn@int-bar.org).

Committee lunches/dinners at the Annual Conference

All lunches and dinners at the Annual Conference are ticketed events, and the IBA Conference team assists in sourcing venues, pricing at a strict break-even, adding these as potential sponsorship opportunities, and advertising the events with all social functions. The IBA Conference Team will be onsite on the day of the event to ensure only those with tickets are granted entry.

Please contact Helen Bakal (helen.bakal@int-bar.org) from the IBA Conference Team, if you are interested in organising a lunch or dinner at the Annual Conference. It is advisable to contact Helen well ahead of the conference, as this will allow for sufficient time to source for a venue, get the relevant quotes, and ensure the event is advertised when booking for social events becomes available for delegates.

Committee receptions

Committees are not permitted to organise informal offsite receptions in the name of the Committee, and furthermore, Committee budgets cannot be used to cover any costs connected to these.

As the International Bar Association (IBA) continues to develop and expand its global network, we are receiving more approaches from organisations and law firms wishing to advertise with and become involved with the IBA through sponsorship.

There is a clear need to provide a consistent and streamlined approach to entering into sponsorship agreements, to ensure both cost-efficient use of resources, and the protection and enhancement of the IBA’s reputation.

Committee Officers or those involved in the organising of a conference are NOT authorised to agree advertising and sponsorship benefits or costs with a potential advertiser or sponsor, all queries regarding sponsorship must be directed to the Sponsorship Director for the IBA.

In order to enable the IBA to manage and track future advertising and sponsorship arrangements, an online booking system has been created. All sponsorship agreements must be completed via the system by the advertiser or sponsor. The online system details the benefits and costs, as set by the Sponsorship Director. Benefits and costs can only be arranged and agreed by the Sponsorship Director; any arrangements made by Officers will be amended to comply with IBA policy.

Neither Officers, nor representatives of the sponsorship department are authorised to agree, discuss or confirm speaking opportunities at an IBA conference as part of a sponsorship agreement. All requests for speaking opportunities must be passed on to the appropriate conference organiser. Speaking opportunities can only be authorised by the Council Liaison Officers, conference Chair(s) and Host/Organising Committee of the said event.

It is important to note that law firms are not permitted to exhibit or distribute books or leaflets at any conference; in addition, Officers cannot distribute leaflets regarding non-IBA events at an IBA conference.

Details of all advertising and conference sponsorship opportunities, Terms & Conditions and IBA Sponsorship Policies and Guidelines can be obtained by contacting the Sponsorship Director.

What are the IBA advertising and sponsorship opportunities for law firms?

Permitted	Not permitted
Sponsor social events at any Conferences	Sponsor programme sessions of any Conference
Sponsor opening party of Annual Conference	Speak at social events as part of social event sponsorship
Sponsor LPD & PPID lunches at Annual Conference	Be a headline sponsor of a Specialist Conference
Sponsor final Gala Night of Annual Conference	Exhibit at Specialist conferences
Advertise in all IBA Publications	Distribute promotional materials at Specialist Conferences
Give funding to IBAHRI	Be an Official Corporate Supporter of the Annual Conference
	Exhibit at Annual conference
	Inserts in delegate bags
	Sponsor opening Ceremony of Annual Conference
	Advertise on IBA Website in skyscraper Adverts
	Be the Official Sponsor of a Committee
	Be an Official Sponsor of IBAHRI

What are the IBA advertising and sponsorship opportunities for businesses other than law firms?

Permitted	Not permitted
Sponsor social events at any Conferences	Sponsor programme sessions of any conferences
Speak at social events as part of social event sponsorship	Sponsor opening Ceremony of Annual Conference
Be a headline sponsor of a Specialist Conference	Official Sponsor of IBAHRI
Exhibit at Specialist Conferences
Distribute promotional materials at Specialist Conferences
Be an Official Corporate Supporter of the Annual Conference
Exhibit at IBA Annual Conference
Inserts in delegate bags
Sponsor opening party of Annual Conference
Sponsor LPD & PPID lunches at Annual Conference
Sponsor final Gala Night of Annual Conference
Use annual conference delegate list for Mailings
Advertise in all IBA publications
	Advertise on IBA Website in skyscraper adverts
	Be the Official Sponsor of a Committee
	Give funding to IBAHRI

What are the guidelines for co-supporting of IBA Conferences by other organisations?

For events organised by an IBA Committee or other entity, the following is expected:

• any co-sponsor or supporting organisation must be reputable;
• co-sponsorship or support by another organisation must be deemed to add value to the programme;
• co-sponsorship of an IBA conference by another organisation in name only is welcomed, and, in return for having a logo and recognition of the co-sponsorship or support on the programme, the co-sponsor would be expected to provide some tangible benefit to the IBA (e.g. marketing assistance, sponsorship of an event during the conference, etc.) at no cost to the IBA;
• at the discretion of the conference Chair or Organising Committee, a co-sponsor may be invited to nominate speaker(s) for the programme, nominated speakers must comply with all sponsorship guidelines stated in this document;
• all co-sponsorship and support must be agreed with and confirmed in writing by the IBA Executive Director or his designated employee prior to the printing of any publicity material for the event;
• any verbal agreement made by an Officer, the conference Chair or a member of the organising committee to a potential co-sponsoring or supporting organisation must be confirmed in writing by the IBA Executive Director or his designated employee;
• no Officer, conference Chair or member of the Organising Committee may confirm arrangements with a co-sponsoring organisation without the prior approval of the IBA office. If such approval has not been sought, it will be assumed that the Officer, conference Chair or member of the Organising Committee is acting in his/her personal capacity and not as a representative of the IBA;
• any notable benefits to the co-sponsoring or supporting organisation (e.g. free delegate places) must be agreed and confirmed in writing by the IBA Executive Director or his designated employee prior to the printing of the preliminary conference programme;
• all division of responsibilities must be clear from the outset and must be confirmed in writing prior to the printing of the preliminary conference programme;
• it would be unusual for the IBA to offer exclusive co-sponsorship to any organisation.

Financial Arrangements

• In the event that it is mutually agreed that a co-sponsoring or supporting organisation will share financial responsibility for the event, the following rules will apply:
• any financial arrangements for the sharing of revenues and losses must be confirmed in writing by the IBA Executive Director or his designated employee prior to the event, and prior to publicity material being produced for the event (likely to be 6 months before the event);
• any co-sponsoring or supporting organisation expecting to share in conference revenues will also be expected to agree to share any conference losses;
• the IBA office will prepare the conference budget with necessary input from the co-sponsoring and supporting organisation(s);
• the IBA will retain control over the budget and advise the co-sponsoring or supporting organisation(s) of any possible over-spend on budget items;
• staff time must always be included in the conference budget and will be based on an accurate estimate of the number of hours spent on a conference of similar length;
• IBA will provide full accounts to the co-sponsoring or supporting organisation(s) at least 60 days after the event.
• the IBA will retain control over the budget and advise the co-sponsoring or supporting organisation(s) of any possible over-spend on budget items;

What are the guidelines for co-supporting conferences / seminars organised by other organisations?

Committee Officers are encouraged to identify possible co-supporting opportunities for events organised by other reputable organisations with which liaison is deemed a benefit for the IBA and its Committees and other entities.

For events organised by other organisations and law firms and supported by the IBA, the following rules will apply:

• all co-sponsorship or support must be deemed to add value to the IBA and its Divisions and the relevant Committee;
• the leadership of Division and Committee to which the subject matter of the seminar pertains should review the seminar programme before approval to support the event is given;
• written confirmation of any co-sponsorship and support must be provided to the organiser by the IBA Executive Director or his designated employee;
• only the IBA Executive Director, or his designated employee may authorise use of the IBA logo on conference programmes and materials produced by other organisations or companies;
• exact wording to be used on the publicity material must be agreed in advance;
• events which may conflict or overlap with any IBA conference will not be deemed suitable for co-sponsorship or support;
• if requested, the IBA will provide marketing support in the most cost-effective and efficient method;
• in return for co-sponsorship or support, the IBA would expect to have at least one representative speaking at the conference;
• all arrangements for the event are the responsibility of the organisation/law firm;
• any changes in structure or programme content must be communicated to the IBA in advance;
• the IBA does not usually enter into these agreements with the intention of gaining financially from the arrangement. However, should the organisation/law firm wish to discuss financial responsibilities; this discussion will be led by the IBA Head of Advertising and Sponsorship. Any financial agreements must be confirmed in writing by the IBA Executive Director or his designated employee prior to the event, and prior to publicity material being produced for the event;
• the IBA will co-sponsor/support up to a maximum of two events organised by any one law firm a year.

The principal staff contact for handling all co-supporting agreements is the Head of Marketing for the IBA.

Contact with the international media is co-ordinated by the  IBA Communications Director. Throughout the year, information about IBA and Division events and activities is disseminated, on a regular basis, to the media through press release and discussions with journalists.

Press list

The IBA office maintains a press list consisting of national and international legal journals, legal correspondents of national newspapers, television and radio reporters, bar association journals and relevant business publications. Suggestions for additions to the press list are actively encouraged, particularly in specialist areas of law.

Press releases

Press releases may be prepared for:

• Conferences
• Special reports and news items
• Newly established Fora and Committees
• Human rights issues
• Pro bono activities
• Officer appointments

These are sent out to the press list as well as the leadership of the relevant Regional Forum. In the case of conferences, a press release may be sent also to relevant specialist journals, along with an invitation for press registration to the event.

Personal contact

Contact is made with legal correspondents of national newspapers and news associations, television and radio stations, and news editors of legal journals on a regular basis to keep them informed of general IBA and Division news and forthcoming events. In addition, the media themselves are in frequent contact requesting information, seeking contacts on particular specialist or regional areas, and for general background information. In this respect the IBA is often contacted for expert commentary.

Press cuttings

The IBA Press Office collects press cuttings whenever possible. However, as it is expensive to use an international press cuttings agency, the Press Office relies on Division Officers, Council members and Committee and Forum Chairs to send copies of any press coverage of Division events.

The Divisions recognise their responsibilities as a resource in international matters of relevance to the general practitioner to co-ordinate and make the expertise of its members available to the media and to other organisations in appropriate situations.

Division Officers, Council members, Committee and entity Chairs, and in exceptional cases Division members will provide their expertise as speakers or their views in interviews in connection with matters covering international business law. The Divisions will act only as the co-ordinating organisation. All Divisions’ members furnishing expertise or views to the media or to other organisations must furnish such expertise or views ‘as their own views and not necessarily the views of either the Divisions or the IBA’.

No member has the authority to express any views as being those of the Divisions or on behalf of the Divisions, without prior approval of the relevant Chairs of the Divisions. However, Officers are encouraged to note their position within the IBA (e.g. Chair of the X Committee).

What are the guidelines for external communication by Committee and Forum Officers on behalf of the IBA?

The following Guidelines for External Communication of the IBA were approved by the IBA Council September 2005 and must be followed by all Officers and members of the IBA.

• The IBA is the Global Voice of the Legal Profession. This requires proactive, efficient, accurate and timely external communication, adequate as to substance, on matters of interest to the Association, and its different parts (Divisions, HRI, BIC, Committees, Fora and other entities) and its members.
• The President of the Association has the ultimate authority to speak for the Association as a whole. The President may delegate his or her powers on a permanent or ad hoc basis and may issue further guidelines for the implementation of those set out here.
• Each part of the IBA is authorised, and indeed encouraged, to communicate in its own name on matters falling within its scope of interest. In such communication it shall be made clear that the relevant part of the IBA speaks in its own name only, and not in the name of the Association. The Management Board shall be kept regularly informed of IBA external communication in an appropriate fashion.
• In all communication the necessary degree of knowledge, expertise and experience shall be secured.
• According to the IBA Constitution, the IBA Council “shall have the sole and exclusive authority on behalf of the association to determine and make statements of policy in relation to issues affecting the legal profession” (below “Policy”). Special rules apply to communication involving matters of Policy as set out below. The meaning of the term Policy carries notoriety and should be sufficiently clear to persons involved in the communication without the need for any further clarifications. In case of doubt, the President will decide whether a matter of Policy is involved.
• The following principles shall apply to communication involving matters of Policy:
  • In communication on any matter where the IBA Council has adopted a Policy, such Policy must be accurately stated or conveyed;
  • In communication on any matter involving Policy where Policy has not (yet) been adopted, it must be clearly stated that views expressed do not represent the Policy of the IBA;
  • On any matter where the Association’s interest may require that the IBA express views on Policy where such has not (yet) been adopted by the IBA Council, the President will decide how to act and how to communicate. The President will keep the Management Board and the Council duly informed of his or her decision.

Making submissions or representing the IBA in formal proceedings before courts, authorities or official bodies should, as a rule, be made in the name of the Association and must always be authorised by the President.

What are the guidelines for announcing policy positions via a press release?

Press releases on matters of Section policy/activity are to be issued only through the respective Section of LPD, SPPI, BIC or IBAHRI Chair or Co-Chairs, and the IBA office.

Any other Division Officer, Council member, Committee or entity Officer, or member must submit any proposal for a press release on Section policy position/activity to the relevant Section constituent Chair for approval prior to the drafting, and distribution of a press release to the media or to any outside organisation or person as a statement of position of the Division.

Should the Division communicate with Bar Associations and other legal and professional organisations?

The Divisions encourage links with other international, national and specialist Bar Associations, and with professional, industrial and business organisations. It encourages the exchange of views on technical subjects and subsequent dissemination to members on such topics.

How do Committees get media coverage for their conferences?

The Section encourages constructive media coverage of all conferences held under its remit.

• Access

  The media will be given open access to all specialist and Annual Conferences unless the session Chair or any individual speaker objects. Speakers may be called upon to attend press briefings or give interviews.

  The IBA retains the right to the intellectual property encompassed in the content of these meetings. In the event of all or any part of a meeting being declared confidential, every effort should be made to conduct a press briefing after the meeting to convey information from the meeting not sought to be kept confidential.

• Press releases

  Press releases announcing events must be issued through the IBA Office in London. The normal timing for issue of a release is as soon as the programme becomes available prior to the event, and this may be followed by a second release issued a week prior to the event.

Officers and Committee and entity Chairs may supply core copy for such a release to the Head of Marketing who will translate it into the general house style and add in details such as membership figures. If during a conference a particularly controversial statement is made, or if there is some other newsworthy element (such as a noteworthy speaker or exceptionally large attendance figures with a broad geographical spread), a press release can be issued immediately following the meeting. The content of this release will be prepared by the appropriate Division representative and signed off by the IBA Office before release.

At the International Bar Association (IBA), we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment within the legal profession. Through our Diversity & Inclusion Council, we strive to promote equal participation and eliminate discrimination and bias within our organisation.

We offer comprehensive training modules, developed by Symmetra, a leading DEI consultancy, aimed at enhancing awareness and understanding of key diversity and inclusion concepts among our officers.

Through interactive exercises and real-world examples, officers will learn the concept of unconscious bias, how to recognise and dismantle barriers to inclusion, and practical steps to foster inclusion in everyday interactions. These modules outline the expectations for IBA Officers to complete training and to equip with the necessary tools and insights to cultivate a culture of inclusivity within the legal profession.

Modules include:

If you have any questions, please contact lauren.hanlon@int-bar.org

• Unconsious Bias
• Disability Inclusion
• Fostering Racial inclusion
• Everyday Inclusion

For more information, visit the IBA's diversity and inclusion page and our Coassemble training page. 

What are one-day training courses for young lawyers?

One-day training courses are offered throughout the world as part of an ongoing IBA programme to assist young lawyers and junior members of the profession with their understanding of the fundamentals of international legal practice.

The course provides exposure to international legal business practice which, through the wealth of international talent and expertise within its membership, the IBA is in the unique and unrivalled position to provide to young lawyers throughout the world.

The IBA works together with the local bar association or law society to put together a highly interactive course focusing on topics relevant to the region.

The following list of topics provides examples of those addressed at past courses. To ensure appropriate depth of discussion, no more than four topics are covered in one day.

• Introduction to competition law
• Introduction to international arbitration
• Introduction to letters of credit
• Introduction to project finance
• Introduction to employment law
• Introduction to environmental law
• Introduction to international joint ventures
• Introduction to mutual funds
• Introduction to insolvency
• Introduction to insurance law
• Issues in privatisation of public service functions
• Introduction to intellectual property law
• Introduction to technology law
• Introduction to international contracts
• International agency and distribution agreements
• Introduction to international taxation
• Issues in international litigation
• Introduction to international capital markets

Other topics from other Committees can, of course, be added on request.

Can I volunteer to speak at training courses?

To volunteer as a speaker for future training courses, please contact Divisions (divisions@int-bar.org) who will add you to the database of speakers.

For stand-alone training courses (i.e. those not attached to a specialist or annual conference) the IBA will contribute to travel and accommodation expenses incurred.

Who do I contact if I have a question about young lawyers’ training courses?

Please contact Divisions (divisions@int-bar.org).

Are there scholarships available?

Many Committees choose to award a scholarship to encourage participation of young lawyers who may not otherwise be able to participate in IBA activities such as the Annual Conference.

All scholarships must be administered through the Divisions department, who will be happy to:

• Confirm whether sufficient funds are available in the relevant Section or Committee budget;
• Assist with formal application guidelines for scholarship awards;
• Publicise the scholarship to the group at whom it is aimed, through emails and IBA publications.

What are the Annual Conference Scholarships?

Annual Conference Scholarships are awarded through the evaluation of papers submitted by applications on a topic determined by the Committee. The essay topic must be based on a session that your Committee is organising at the Annual Conference and the chosen scholar will need to be involved in this session. The Committee must designate a judging panel to review the applications and to decide which young lawyer should be awarded the scholarship. For more information on the rules and guidelines for scholarship competitions, please contact the IBA Divisions Team (divisions@int-bar.org).

The Annual Conference Scholarship award provides a contribution towards travel and accommodation costs to attend the conference and includes a waived registration fee. In addition, scholars receive two years’ free membership of the IBA, free membership of one Committee of the LPD and one Committee of the PPID, as well as membership of a regional forum of their choice. Scholars also receive a waived registration fee for either the next IBA Annual Conference or the next specialist conference hosted by one of the scholar’s chosen Committees. These post-conference benefits are conditional upon receipt of a written report submitted to the IBA office within one month of the conference, which is considered for publication in the Alumni Newsletter.

Can I offer a scholarship for a Specialist Conference?

Scholarships relating to specialist conferences, or other events apart from the Annual Conference, must be discussed and agreed with the Divisions Department Staff, to ensure the fairness and stringency of the selection process, as well as to confirm availability of funds in the relevant budget. Please contact the IBA Divisions Team (divisions@int-bar.org) who will be happy to assist.

Who do I contact if I have a question about scholarships and awards?

Please contact the IBA Divisions Team (divisions@int-bar.org).

What educational programmes do the IBA offer?

The IBA offers various educational programmes regarding legal issues on a global scale, including an LL.M in International Legal Practice, which feature a flexible distance learning format and support structure, so that jurisdictional boundaries pose no barriers to successful completion. Find out more