Buoyed by evolving global economic interactivity and driven by the initiative of such institutions as ICSID and UNCITRAL, Investor-State Mediation has become a growing staple of the ADR lexicon and feature of investment dispute management.
 
This session will feature institution representatives, legal counsel, and mediators who, together, will;

• Address current international developments
• Consider new mediation provisions being adopted in bilateral and multilateral investment treaties
• Provide practice updates on the use of mediation in Investor-State disputes

Expect a lively exchange around one of the hottest sectors in international dispute resolution

For start-ups and family businesses, establishing a professionalized board and other aspects of corporate governance tend to be far down the priority list. And yet, several experiences have demonstrated that investing in good governance is crucial for long-term success of non-listed companies. In this panel we will examine the advantages of adopting good corporate governance for private companies and the main risks associated with inertia, with a close look to the key issues that any private company should consider when structuring its governance, alongside with the new trends in legislation.

The legal profession is under attack. Every day, new accusations of enabling criminal and unethical activity emerge, and calls to end self-regulation grow ever louder. 
 
What are we to do about this? 
 
So far, the profession’s response has been mixed, and even contradictory. Criminal lawyers rightly point out that it is their corporate counterparts who are the targets of most criticisms, risking a dangerous division of the profession. Others argue that even acknowledging the validity of some of these attacks will have catastrophic results, and risks opening the Pandora’s Box of lawyers becoming associated with the interests of their clients. ‘Lawyers are politically and ethically neutral figures, and should be permitted to advise their clients on any course of action so long as it is legal’ is the standard reply, but is this true? 
 
How unfair are the criticisms being levelled at the profession? Is it not already heavily divided? Do the profession’s core principles even apply to corporate lawyers anymore? And if corporate lawyers have become businessmen first, and legal professionals second, what does this mean in a world where big business is being increasingly regulated along ethical lines? Events are already pushing the profession in a certain direction, regardless of how much we might object: law firms have traditionally been reluctant to draw ethical lines in the sand, yet recent events in Russia and Ukraine have forced many firms to start taking an ethical stance where they might not have previously. 
 
Yet is the formal ethical regulation of lawyers actually possible when our profession is founded on the certainty of statute, reasoned judicial precedent, and independent regulation? Are those trying to adapt the law to ever-changing ethical standards simply giving in to cancel culture and mob rule? Or are they simply acknowledging the reality of the new world of social activism in which business, law, and all of us now operate, one which we ignore at our peril? 
 
This session will attempt to tackle some of these thorny issues and marks the formal start of the IBA’s broader engagement with its members on these vital questions. 

An open meeting of the International Construction Projects Committee held to discuss matters of interest and future activities.

This session will look at the potential liability of employers, corporations and officers for breaching their duties to provide for the psychological safety of their workers and for exposing them to workplace stress. It will outline the new international standardISO45003‑2021- Psychological Health & Safety at Work and will consider the investigation process where there has been an incident or complaint and what steps employers should be taking and the different approaches taken in different jurisdictions around the globe. The session will also look at recent coronial inquests involving workplace incidents which have increased with the recent pandemic where workers have been exposed to workplace stress at a levels not previously seen.

SustainabilityFocusAs energy storage technologies grow at a very fast pace, new legal, institutional and enforcement challenges are faced. Participants in the energy storage space involve developers, generators, network operators and consumers (ranging from large energy users through to domestic consumers) among others. This session will explore some of the main legal challenges in energy storage including: (a) incentive programmes, (b) development of an energy storage regulatory regime, (c) grid connection, (d) procurement and construction (“EPC”) contracts, operations and maintenance (“O&M”) agreements and asset management agreements, (e) land rights and (f) electricity supply and offtake arrangements.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

SustainabilityFocusPressure continues to mount on companies around the world to make Environmental, Social and Governance disclosure. Major institutional investors are taking a principled stand against companies that provide insufficient ESG disclosures and regulators across the globe are increasingly making adequate annual ESG disclosures mandatory. This session will explore emerging trends in ESG disclosure as well as the related risks and opportunities.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS sessions marked as such are part of the IBA Annual Conference 2022 sustainability focus on Tuesday and Thursday, grouping sessions discussing different aspects of ESG and sustainability across the different legal fields.

The session will explore how the rules and practice of international trade are evolving, as reflected in the expanded use of trade defence tools such as trade remedies, safeguards, unilateral tariffs and countermeasures, the return of managed trade arrangements and the reordering of global trading blocs. The session will be practical and forward-looking; it will focus on what lawyers need to know to help clients structure their supply chains and the extent to which domestic courts and international institutions like the WTO can offer meaningful recourse to protect parties’ interests in rules-based trade.

RuleOfLawThe Rule of Law Forum has been given the responsibility to provoke, urge and assist the membership of the IBA in supporting and promoting the rule of law. As part of that, the final day of the IBA Annual Conference has always been dedicated to rule of law issues, with high-profile speakers from around the world participating. Following successful rule of law symposia in Chicago, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Vancouver, Dubai, Dublin, Boston, Tokyo, Vienna, Washington, DC, Sydney, Rome, Seoul and the final day of the conference in Miami will once again be devoted to the rule of law.

The classic session devoted to recent evolutions in investment arbitration. This year the Committee will analyse the recent paradigmatic in investment arbitration.

RuleOfLawThis panel will focus on the role of international law in modern conflict generally and the Ukraine crisis specifically. Panellists will discuss war crimes enforcement/accountability, de-escalation/conflict resolution, the role of sanctions and the role of private business. As it concerns the Ukraine crisis, panellists will consider whether or not the rule of law exists in conflicts involving superpowers and what can be done, through the enforcement of international norms and instruments, to restore the international rule of law in Ukraine.

The debate over whether technological innovations will impact M&A transactions is over. The question now is to what extent and how quickly will this change occur and be embraced by forward thinking lawyers and clients. This session will explore the rapidly developing technologies and novel products that are changing the way lawyers are supporting M&A activity in the digital age, the benefits to both law firms and clients of embracing new ways of doing deals, the opportunities technology presents, as well as the challenges created by such innovation.  Topics to be explored include: how technological innovations are impacting transactional efficiency; how the M&A lawyer’s role has evolved and will evolve in shaping successful deal making by leveraging technology; the potential impacts of the digital age on shareholder engagement, empowerment and transaction approval; and regulatory implications and ethical considerations of utilising new technologies to support M&A transactions.