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
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 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
From the Editor – IBA WCC newsletter, July 2026
This edition features articles on international criminal accountability in modern conflict and the future direction of international criminal law. The articles reflect the breadth of issues currently shaping international criminal law and demonstrate the continuing importance of rigorous legal analysis in responding to evolving forms of violence, persecution and impunity.
Released on Jul 7, 2026
Key practical asset recovery guidance drawn from the 3rd Annual Asset Recovery Committee Meeting panels
This article is drawn from a panel discussions at the 3rd Annual Asset Recovery Committee Meeting. When discussing the most common strategic and procedural pitfalls in cross-border asset recovery, rather than revisiting theoretical frameworks, this article focusses on practical experiences drawn from multiple jurisdictions, illustrating how apparently minor tactical decisions can generate significant – and sometimes irreversible – consequences. The discussion, co-moderated and confirmed that in international enforcement, disciplined coordination and strategic consistency are often as critical as substantive legal arguments.
Released on Jul 3, 2026
Top tips from investigators in asset recovery cases
This article advises legal professionals on the considerations they must take during asset recovery investigations, including the use of AI, digital evidence, ethical cooperation, thee speed of the investigation and more.
Released on Jul 3, 2026
The new Swiss committee for cultural heritage with a burdened past
Switzerland’s new looted-art commission will reshape how asset recovery claims are assessed for Holocaust-era and colonial-era takings. Furthermore, this article explains the concept of ‘burnt art’ and why it matters in the asset recovery process.
Released on Jul 3, 2026
Crypto development in Africa
Cryptocurrency is increasingly being adopted in Africa and Africa’s rapidly evolving digital asset landscape has opened new doors for innovation, Africa is one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets in the world. This article explores why Africa is so rapidly adopting cryptocurrencies.
Released on Jul 3, 2026
Crypto in insolvency: the ‘property’ debate is over but the issue of control remains
For years, the insolvency world was paralysed by a metaphysical question: is bitcoin property, or merely information? The distinction was critical. If crypto was just data, it could not be ‘owned’ or sold by a liquidator. However, today, that debate is effectively dead. This article assesses the global movements as courts across the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States have definitively categorised digital assets as property, capable of being held in trust and liquidated.
Released on Jul 3, 2026
Who decides consent? Arbitration agreement formation and FSIA jurisdiction in US courts after Stabil and Hulley
Recent DC Circuit and district court decisions reflect a maturing approach to arbitration-related jurisdiction under the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, requiring independent judicial determination of whether an arbitration agreement was formed while deferring to arbitral tribunals on questions of scope and treaty interpretation. The Stabil v Russian Federation and Hulley Enterprises v Russian Federation decisions illustrate how US courts distinguish jurisdictional consent from merits-based defences, with significant implications for enforcement strategy against sovereign respondents.
Released on Jul 3, 2026