Conference programme

A breakfast meeting of the IBA Family Law Committee will take place to discuss matters of interest and future activities, as well as to provide updates on the activities of the Committee.

Join us for a joint breakfast hosted by the Business Human Rights Committee and the Securities and Capital Markets Committee, focusing on the growing role of ESG disclosures in capital markets transactions. As regulatory and investor scrutiny intensifies, ESG transparency has become a core component of capital raising, financings, mergers and acquisitions and ongoing reporting obligations. We will explore how ESG considerations, particularly around human rights and environmental impacts, are shaping deal terms, due diligence processes, financing transactions and listing requirements across jurisdictions.

Following the successful off-site tours in Miami, Paris and Mexico City, the Aviation Law Committee will take a group of up to 50 delegates to visit Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ), on Toronto Island, close to downtown Toronto. Top airport executives will welcome and show the group much of the backstage of one of Canada´s top 10 airports. Completed in 1939, the airport´s name pays tribute to Billy Bishop, the Canadian World War I flying ace and World War II Air Marshal. It is used by civil aviation, air ambulances, and regional airlines using turboprop planes. Weather permitting, there may be a surprise for those attending, courtesy of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, based in nearby Hamilton. 
 
Those interested in joining the off-site tour should bring with them on the day photo ID (valid passport or driver´s license). The bus will leave the Toronto Metro Convention Centre at 09:00 a.m. and return by 1:00 p.m

The session will address how Artificial intelligence (AI) impacts the different areas of practice and industries that relate to SEERIL.

Why do some class action regimes work very effectively, and others fail miserably? This panel will examine why this happens, and specifically what could be done to ensure that the best features were imported into a model that could work well everywhere, making class actions a more successful means of redress globally. Our expert panelists will review the best and worst features of class action regimes in various jurisdictions, to help explain what reforms might be necessary, and how to build a better global class action model.

European cybersecurity regulation has been put in force in Europe recently and is evolving quickly. This session will present an overview of recent developments in cybersecurity regulation and its management level impact on a global scale, including Europe, Asia Pacific, and the U.S./Canada. This session will also address the latest technological developments around cyber security, such as quantum computing, and whether these developments are beneficial or threatening for cybersecurity.

How can law firms be conduits of professional ethics? As compared to the roles of law societies and bar associations;  

Requiring agents or local counsel firms to also act ethically;  

Should law firms have a duty to ensure that their lawyers act ethically?;

In certain jurisdictions, young lawyers and new firms are getting suspended or disbarred. What’s happening here?;

Does being a sole practitioner create more risks because of lack of training or firm oversight?;

Does having been trained in a different jurisdiction create issues when you start practising in another jurisdiction?;

And involve young and older lawyers and get their respective perspectives.  

As India progresses towards becoming a trillion-dollar economy, a key pillar of this growth is the development of infrastructure to support such expansion.

The session will focus on the following key areas:

• India's commitment to energy transition;
• advancements in the transport and logistics sector;
• the implications for international companies managing contracts in large projects;
• managing disputes throughout the lifecycle of projects.

This session will bring together seasoned legal practitioners, both Indian and non-Indian, and will also invite key funding agencies based in Canada to provide their perspectives.

Art exhibitions, in cultural institutions and/or public spaces, face growing interferences by governments, patrons, and/or lobbies regarding their content, scientific organisation, financing, and even their existence. The purpose of this session is to analyse such interferences, describe their legal grounds and goals, and explore the means to address them legally (freedom of speech, copyright, public financing law, etc.).

An exploration of public interest litigation in advancing LGBTQI+ rights and attempts by entities to use litigation to suppress diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.

In this session we will be taking a look at the risks involved in acquisitions, and how to manage them, when it comes to closely held companies.

The panel will explore the unique aspects of financing mining transactions in various jurisdictions, including lenders’ due diligence, collateral requirements, and other appropriate contractual protections in loan agreements.

This panel will discuss Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disputes and the role that the burden of proof plays in these disputes.

The IBA Litigation Committee have organised two sessions with the IBA Arbitration Committee to be held at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday 4 November. The full programme details are below:

9:00am-9:15am - Welcome remarks

9:15am-10:30am - The burden of proof in ESG disputes

11:00am-12:15pm - The (controversial) role of experts in dispute resolution

12:15pm-12:30pm - Closing remarks

12:30pm-1:00pm - Tour of Osgoode Hall

Spaces are limited and are assigned on a first come first served basis. Registered conference delegates can register at the Speaker Registration Desk during the Annual Conference.

This panel will discuss various trade agreements such as European Union- United Kingdom (Trade & Cooperation Agreement), ⁠Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Mercosur, ⁠bilateral treaties, as well as the impact on business immigration policies, employer sponsorship and mobility provisions, challenges and opportunities for businesses, and future trends in trade and immigration law.

This panel will look at the different approaches to regulating digital platforms that have been taken in different jurisdictions around the world.  Speakers will consider whether sector specific regulation such as the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is necessary and whether it has the intended effects, or whether other laws, such as existing competition and consumer protection laws, are adequate to address market failures or consumer harms.  Also to be considered are whether regulatory focus should be on areas such as AI or the protection of minors, and how digital platforms regulation, if required at all, may be future proofed to address rapidly evolving technologies.

Witness the intersection of corrupt activities and environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns play out in the courtroom at the IBA Criminal Law Section’s annual mock trial. As is now tradition, the mock trial will showcase the hearing and resolution of a corruption case involving individual and corporate defendants in the public and private sectors through IBA members acting out a real-life case study. This year, register to watch our advocates prosecute, defend and judge allegations involving ESG, greenwashing, bribery and corruption.

An open committee business meeting where all members and Officers of the entire SEERIL Section are invited to learn more about the current and upcoming activities and developments of the Section, and the Committees within it.

This panel will discuss alternative means of settling disputes with tax authorities, whether before the issuance of an assessment or via non-judicial proceedings including International Compliance Assurance Programme (ICAP), Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) and various treaty arbitration procedures.