Singapore Lawyers Attend International Law Conference in Mexico
At the time of writing, the IBA's major annual conference on issues of international law was about to take place in Cancun, Mexico, between 28 October and 2 November 2001. The conference, scheduled to receive a welcoming address by Mexican President, Vincente Fox, attracted registrations of almost 3,000 lawyers from all around the world. A significant representation from East Asia included delegates from Singapore, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Delegates will have attended sessions on a wide range of issues in business law, human rights and the development of the legal profession. Anti-trust, arbitration, legal aspects of mergers and acquisitions, cross-border exchanges and commercial litigation were amongst the business issues being addressed - and this is a sample from just one day of the conference. Speakers were drawn from among the leading lawyers in the world in their particular area of specialisation.
Recent Developments in Sri Lanka
The IBA sent a top-level delegation of lawyers to Sri Lanka to investigate government proposals to bring in a new constitution, after concerns were raised by Sri Lankan lawyers.
The delegation sought to question whether government proposals to seek a mandate for constitutional change by referendum were in themselves extra-constitutional and, if so, to discuss with those responsible the implications of acting outside the constitutional framework. In the light of recent cases to disbar the Chief Justice from practising as a lawyer, it also examined legal guarantees for the independence of the judiciary and the practical respect these guarantees receive.
Consultations have been held with Sri Lankan Government Ministers, the Chief Justice, lawyers, judges, politicians and experts in the academic, political and administrative fields. Following the visit, the proposals for a referendum were cancelled. A full report on the findings of the delegation is now available.
A New Constitution for Rwanda
The IBA supported an intensive conference on constitutional development held in Kibuye, Rwanda, where experiences from other countries helped to form a framework to protect the rights of citizens and minority groups. The Rwandan Government has set out to create a new constitution which is intended to ensure that the suffering of the 1990s is not repeated.
Constitutional experts and representatives came from eight African countries and the United States, as well as from the IBA. Recent experiences in countries like South Africa and also in Eastern Europe offered valuable lessons.
'The parallels between Rwanda and the Balkans run surprisingly deep', said the IBA's Harold D Dampier Jr,
Countries such as Albania and those of the former Yugoslavia share with Rwanda the experiences of constitutions inadequately drawn or overturned, and insufficient safeguards for ethnic and other minorities. One of the consequences in both places was complete disregard for humanitarian law.
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More positively, the eastern European states now have the benefit of some years of implementing and improving new constitutional safeguards - work which can be directly relevant to developments in Rwanda. It is vital that we do all we can - drawing on African and other global experiences - to help prevent a recurrence of the recent past.
For further information on the IBA and the activities planned for Asia and
around the world, visit our website at www.ibanet.org or contact us by e-mail at
members@int-bar.org or by fax at +44 (0)20 7492 4460.