Ethics and Anti-Corruption

In 2022, the International Bar Association embarked on a project to examine the professional role of lawyers as ethical gatekeepers within wider society, in order to help clarify the ethical responsibilities and obligations of lawyers when providing legal services. Following on from work on Legal Professional Privilege/Lawyer Client Confidentiality, this initiative was designed as a proactive effort, intended to involve meaningful dialogue with those criticising the profession, while also explaining the dangers behind any undermining of the profession's core principles.

The Gatekeepers Project, as it became known, led by the IBA’s Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU) and an IBA taskforce, began its work with a series of consultative meetings across the IBA's membership, receiving input from bar associations, law societies, law firms and individual practitioners. This led to updated guidance being issued on Business and Human Rights for lawyers (2023) and for Bars (2024), and a co-hosted event at Chatham House with a report published in September 2024.

In addition to work on the ethical role of lawyers, the LPRU has also been tasked with reviving the IBA's anti-corruption initiatives for the global legal profession, building on work previously undertaken between 2011-2015. As part of this effort, data on lawyers' perceptions of the impact of corruption on their private practise, the profession in their jurisdiction more broadly, and the effectiveness of domestic and international anti-corruption training and legislation has been collected via a global survey launched in 2024. The results of this and short report will be published here soon.

A range of work on both initiatives (ethics and anti-corruption) is planned for 2025, and further details will be announced in the coming weeks.