Committee publications
Solving ground-level problems from 500km up: the rise of Africa’s space economy
Africa’s space economy is rapidly evolving from state-led initiatives into a dynamic ecosystem driven by private companies, startups and continental coordination under the African Space Agency. Leveraging satellite technologies for agriculture, climate resilience, connectivity and disaster management, the sector is reshaping development priorities and positioning Africa as both a consumer and creator in the global space market.
Released on Jul 21, 2026
Cross-border labour and employment law trends in a changing global landscape
As borders blur and workforces go global, the rules governing labour and employment are caught in a relentless race to keep pace. From the gig economy’s defiance of traditional employment classifications to the seismic shifts triggered by remote work, multinational enterprises and workers alike now navigate a labyrinth of overlapping, often conflicting legal regimes. Employment contracts, social security obligations and data governance frameworks are emerging as key areas which will require systematic re-examination in light of this evolving workforce structure.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Pay transparency in Italy: Legislative Decree No. 96/2026 – employer obligations, enforcement and strategic implications
Italy’s Legislative Decree No. 96/2026 entered into force on 7 June 2026, transposing Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency and the enforcement of equal pay. This article outlines the new employer obligations, the enforcement structure and the strategic challenges for Italian business, and identifies the points at which the national legislator has narrowed the Directive’s reach. The analysis also draws on early Italian commentary published in Norme & Tributi Plus Lavoro (Il Sole 24 Ore), June 2026.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Labour and employment trends and developments in Indonesia
Indonesia’s labour and employment regulations is entering a new phase of adjustment, marked by recent measures on online transport workers, outsourcing, domestic workers, and the preparation of a new employment law following Constitutional Court Decision No. 168/PUU-XXI/2023. For employers and cross-border businesses, these developments signal a more protection-oriented regulatory approach.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Rewriting compensation procedures: how India’s new Labour Codes are driving a compensation overhaul
India’s impending new employment laws are forcing companies to change how they manage their money and pay structures. It is forcing an urgent, boardroom-level rewriting of compensation procedures to navigate a reconstituted definition of ‘wages’, which triggers escalating statutory liabilities, compressed final settlement timelines, and democratised fixed-term employment benefits. This article analyses the legal framework and practical application of the new system, breaking down its regulatory mechanics and operational realities. It also evaluates the long-term legal and operational implications for employers.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Compensation and benefits in Turkey: recent trends and practical challenges for multinational employers
Inflation, workforce mobility, pay transparency expectations and growing employee expectations regarding wellbeing, flexibility and work-life balance are reshaping compensation and benefits strategies across jurisdictions. This article examines recent trends and practical challenges affecting multinational employers in Turkey, including pay compression, benefits design, expatriate compensation, executive remuneration and the localisation of global reward policies
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Voices in conflict: free speech, social media, and the workplace during national trauma
In times of national trauma, the boundaries of acceptable speech tend to diminish. Emotions run high, public discourse becomes polarised, and institutions, especially employers, sometimes feel pressure to ‘take a stand’. But what happens when that pressure collides with one of the most fundamental democratic rights: freedom of expression?
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Measuring what matters: compliance as a bridge between data and practice
This article examines how the gap between corporate diversity disclosures and actual workforce practices – a phenomenon known as ‘diversity washing’ – distorts ESG ratings, misallocates capital, and erodes stakeholder trust, and argues that effective compliance programmes, rather than performative policies, which are the necessary bridge between reported metrics and genuine organisational change
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Anti-DEI views: not protected as ‘political belief’ in Canada
At what point does an employer have a right to require employees to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives? In supporting diverse views, will there be instances where an employer can decide that a person’s lack of support for DEI is enough to refuse to hire them? A recent Canadian human rights decision explores this question, which involves the anti-DEI views of an applicant seeking to become a university professor.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Beyond office walls: the employer’s right to discipline employees for out-of-office speech and conduct
This article examines instances when out-of-office speech, social media activity, or off-duty conduct may become a legitimate workplace concern under Philippine law. It discusses the extent of an employer’s right to discipline employees for such conduct, while emphasising that any disciplinary action must be based on a valid cause, supported by due process, and proportionate to the offence. It also highlights that while employees do not lose their rights to expression and privacy outside of the workplace, those rights must be balanced against the employer’s legitimate business interests, workplace standards, and duty to protect its employees and reputation.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Pro bono in Turkey: a missing piece in access to justice
This article examines pro bono practice in Turkey, highlighting that while pro bono legal services are legally permissible under Turkey’s Attorneyship Law, the absence of institutional coordination and limited bar association engagement has prevented a sustainable pro bono culture from emerging. The principal barrier is not prohibition, but ambiguity. Minimum fee rules protect lawyers from unfair competition, but they also leave unpaid work in uncertain territory. It is argued that resolving this ambiguity, through regulatory reform and institutional leadership, could turn pro bono legal services into a meaningful complement to a legal aid system already under strain.
Released on Jul 20, 2026
Latin America’s growing footprint in space governance – from international commitments to the unfinished task of building domestic regulatory frameworks
Latin American countries have rapidly embraced international space commitments, in fact, eight South American nations have now signed the Artemis Accords, and several have recently acceded to key UN space treaties. However, the region still largely lacks the domestic legal frameworks needed to regulate commercial space activities, attract private investment and fulfil treaty obligations. This article surveys the current state of space law across the region, highlights key developments and gaps and argues that bridging this regulatory deficit is the most urgent task ahead.
Released on Jul 17, 2026
Key points investors should know about foreign investment protection in the space sector
Foreign direct investment in the space sector is increasing but is exposed to growing political risk. Consequently, foreign investors in the space sector should be aware of the protection international investment agreements can offer, how to structure their investments to ensure they are covered by the protection that these treaties can provide and how investment contracts can provide alternative or supplementary protection.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
A new phase in Japanese space law and emerging technology regulation: the soft law approach in domestic regulation
This article examines Japan’s evolving regulation of emerging technologies through the recent amendment process of the Space Activities Act. While broader hard-law reform was initially envisioned, Japan finally chose a more pragmatic soft-law approach in the 2026 amendment, reserving legislation for immediately necessary issues such as permission requirements for rocket launches with dummy payloads, while addressing other matters through guidelines and manuals. Comparing this development with Japan’s AI regulatory framework, such trend suggests that the soft-law approach offers a flexible and realistic model for governing technologies whose future development is difficult to foresee.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
EU Space Act: council negotiations highlight growing de-bate on the scope of harmonisation
As negotiations on the proposed European Union Space Act continue, the debate within the Council has increasingly shifted from the technical design of individual obligations to a broader question: how far should European harmonisation in space regulation extend? Examining the compromise texts issued by the Danish and Cy-prus Presidencies, this article highlights the key developments in the legislative pro-cess and explores how Member States are seeking to balance the objectives of a common European framework with the preservation of national regulatory autono-my.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
Overview of the proposed amendments to Japan’s Space Activities Act and beyond
Japan has enacted a major overhaul of its Space Activities Act to accommodate the rapid diversification of space activities driven by private-sector innovation. This article examines the key amendments, including the expansion of the licensing regime from satellite launches to all space rocket launches, the introduction of a pre-loading conformity certification system and the extension of the third-party damage compensation framework, and considers the implications for international space industry participants.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
Amendments to Japan’s Space Activities Act and consideration concerning the license system for spaceports
As of May 2026, draft amendments to Japan’s Space Activities Act and related laws (the ‘Amendment Bill’) are under consideration in the National Diet of Japan. This article provides an overview of the Amendment Bill and introduces discussions concerning the licence system applicable to spaceports that took place in the course of this amendment process.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
Positioning Switzerland as a space law hub: Switzerland's draft Space Act in the orbit of the draft EU Space Act
This article examines Switzerland’s Draft Federal Space Operations Act, which establishes the country’s first national legal framework for space operations – covering licensing, supervision, liability, registration and conflict of laws – and assesses its key provisions in a comparative perspective with the proposed EU Space Act, highlighting Switzerland’s strategy to position itself as a competitive hub for space activities.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
In orbit: the legal implications of data centres in space
This article highlights challenges for advisers as in-orbit data centres move data processing from terrestrial facilities to satellites, exposing gaps in space, data, cybersecurity and liability rules.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
Pharmacy in space: mapping the EU legal landscape
As pharmaceutical research and manufacturing increasingly move into low Earth orbit (LEO), existing legal frameworks—designed for terrestrial, inspectable activities—face unprecedented challenges. This article maps the applicable law in low earth orbit, examines how EU regulations on clinical trials, GMPs, GCPs, pharmacovigilance, product liability, intellectual property and AI governance interact with international space law. It also assesses emerging responses including the UK’s 2026 space regulatory roadmap and the proposed European Union Space Act, concluding that targeted functional adaptations, rather than autonomous space health law, would offer the most pragmatic path forward to support health and space stakeholders’ research, development & innovation and help the market grow for a better prevention and treatment of diseases.
Released on Jul 15, 2026
The future of multilateralism: international law and institutions in an era of impunity and great power competition
As part of its annual Rule of Law Symposium, held during the IBA 2026 Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada, the Rule of Law Forum hosted a panel discussion on ‘The future of multilateralism: international law and institutions in an era of impunity and great power competition’. The subject was selected in light of the rapid emergence of a multipolar world and surging geopolitical conflict, which are challenging established international laws, norms and principles; entrenching global impunity; and raising existential questions about the future of international law and multilateral institutions in world affairs.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
Civility as a rule of law imperative
At the Rule of Law Symposium, as part of the IBA Annual Conference in Toronto, the session ‘Civility and the legal profession’ framed professional civility as a rule-of-law issue. Held on Friday 7 November 2025 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, it was the second of three symposium sessions, alongside panels on multilateralism and sanctions. The IBA described the symposium as a ‘call to action’ for its membership, underscoring lawyers’ responsibility to sustain justice, accountability and public trust.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
IBA Rule of Law Forum hears from expert panel on sanctions: economic warfare and the law at the IBA Annual Conference in Toronto
At the 2025 IBA Annual Conference Rule of Law Day in Toronto run by the Rule of Law Forum, a full house heard from the panellists who discussed the use of sanctions and potential rule of law consequences. The panel was chaired by Michael Polak, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Forum.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
Developing a judicial selection toolkit: update on a collaborative project to strengthen the rule of law
Last autumn, readers of the Rule of Law Forum newsletter were introduced to the judicial selection toolkit project. It is a collaboration between the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, an independent research centre based in London, and several IBA bodies: the Rule of Law Forum, the Judges’ Forum, the Bar Issues Commission, the Forum for Barristers and Advocates, the Litigation Committee, the Legal Policy & Research Unit and the Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). This collaboration, involving an unusually large number of stakeholders, demonstrates that judicial selection issues are a matter of serious concern across many parts of the IBA.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
Bringing the rule of law to life: the IBA educational project in action
The International Bar Association continues to strengthen its commitment to promoting the rule of law through its Rule of Law Educational Project, a new IBA initiative developed under the leadership of immediate-past and current Presidents Jaime Carey and Claudio Visco to engage younger generations in understanding why the rule of law matters in everyday life and to encourage them to play an active role in upholding it throughout their civic lives.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
A note from an IBA scholarship winner
Attending the IBA Annual Conference in Toronto as a scholarship recipient was one of the most rewarding professional experiences I have ever had, mainly because of the chance to participate in the entire programme alongside other scholars. Each IBA committee selects one young lawyer as a scholar and, as such, the group is made up of individuals from a wide range of countries and backgrounds. As scholarship recipients, this article describes how we were invited to attend the conference and to participate in the young lawyers training on Saturday.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
The blindfold of justice in the fog of war: genocide, military necessity and the limits of armed force under international law
The article explores the boundary between lawful military actions and acts of genocide under international law, referencing the International Court of Justice case South Africa v Israel. It contends that international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law are three separate yet interconnected frameworks – actions lawful under one might still lead to liability under another – with genocide serving as the clearest example. The main argument is that military necessity is a legitimate but limited doctrine, insufficient to justify acts committed with dolus specialis; the crucial factor distinguishing lawful warfare from genocide is proven intent, not the outcomes of military operations.
Released on Jul 13, 2026
Human rights and nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands webinar - summary
The IBA Human Rights Law Committee hosted a webinar on ‘Human rights and nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands’ on 1st July 2026, which was co-presented by the IBA Rule of Law Forum, the IBA Environment, Health and Safety Law Committee, and the IBA Human Rights Institute.
Released on Jul 12, 2026
Getting to know the ERF - Tine Mišic
Get to know our members of the European Regional Forum with this series throughout 2026. Tine Mišic describes his experience of being European as both something personal and something that is created through shared experiences and cultures.
Released on Jul 8, 2026
The United Nations legacy of international criminal justice: Part 2 of the analysis of the acquitted and released men dying unfree in Niger
This article gives an update on developments with the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals and the four-year long protracted crisis regarding relocation of acquitted and released Rwandan men
Released on Jul 7, 2026