Conference programme

The paradigm for water management has fundamentally shifted. Once considered a limitless utility, reliable water access is now one of the most critical vulnerabilities for both public and private enterprises in the face of persistent drought, climate volatility and population growth.

For sanitation companies and water utilities, the 'dry tap' scenario — the point at which supply can no longer meet demand — has moved from a hypothetical worst case to a foreseeable business reality.

In this new reality, water recycling and reuse are no longer innovative options; they are essential components of climate adaptation and business continuity.

This session confronts the profound legal exposure for directors and officers who fail to act. We will explore how the decision to delay, defer, or reject capital investment in proven water reuse technologies is being reframed as a critical failure of oversight and a direct breach of fiduciary duty.

When a utility fails, or a corporation's operations halt due to a predictable water shortage, stakeholders — from investors to regulators to the public — will not ask if the board knew about water recycling, but why they failed to implement it.

The rapid diffusion of digital health - particularly connected medical devices - is reshaping global supply chains end to end. Manufacturers must navigate fragmented regulatory regimes on cybersecurity, software updates and post-market surveillance, driving region-specific design, documentation and distribution strategies. This session is proudly led by the Digital Healthcare and Regulation Subcommittee of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Law Committee.

Professional networks are a cornerstone of success in the legal world. This panel will examine how women can build and leverage local and international networks for visibility, mentorship and business development, and will share practical insights and success stories.

This session will look at disputes arising out of the development and integration of AI technology into other products and services, and where issues of liability may involve multiple parties in the AI supply chain all the way to the end-user. What are the advantages and limitations of arbitrating versus litigating these disputes?

If you can see it, you can be it: leadership and role modelling. 

Lawyers often believe happiness comes after success – but neuroscience and human experience show that happiness is actually what makes success possible. In a profession that quietly struggles with stress, pressure, burnout and emotional overload, this session will explore happiness as a professional practice, not a distant reward. We will look at what happiness does in the body – the physiology, the micro-rituals, the state shifts that increase clarity, creativity, presence and emotional grounding in minutes. And we will examine how redefining happiness transforms the way we work, collaborate and lead in law. Happiness is not a luxury nor a distraction, and when lawyers practice it intentionally, the profession itself transforms from the inside out.

A case study session on ethical regulations.

This panel will examine the global phenomenon of the deliberate use of trade measures—tariffs, non-tariff barriers, sanctions, export controls, and other instruments, not as neutral regulatory tools but as instruments of geopolitical power. The US has been at the forefront of this trend, invoking national security to justify broad tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and several other statutes.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year in Learning Resources v. Trump clarified that IEEPA does not authorise tariffs, curbing executive overreach. This decision triggered refund obligations, creating a nationwide compliance and financial impact for importers, and flow on wave of new/surrogate trade weapons in replacement. For its part, the US insisted on reincarnating its tariff wall using alternative methods.
This has triggered a variety of responses from other countries, ranging from signing bilateral trade deals to engaging in counter-retaliation.

The panel will consider:
• How do we distinguish legitimate trade regulation from the weaponisation of trade?; 
• What are the legal boundaries – both domestically and internationally?;
• Practical consequences and responses for companies;
• International responses, including implications for FTAs and the WTO;
• Consequences for the Sino-American Trade War; and
• Systemic implications for International Trade Law and Policy

As regulatory reviews increase uncertainty and the potential duration between the signing and closing of M&A deals, this panel will explore practical strategies for both target companies and buyers to optimise deal timelines while effectively managing the interim period. Counsel from jurisdictions around the world will compare strategies for addressing these risks, including a discussion of key, and often unique, contract provisions that can enable attorneys to assist their clients in managing the interim period and mitigating risks to deal counterparties during the pendency of an M&A deal.

As the world becomes increasingly multipolar, norms are upended, conflicts rip through social orders, and international laws are stress-tested, where do we go from here?

As cross-border litigation becomes increasingly complex, courts worldwide face growing challenges in managing parallel proceedings and related actions across multiple jurisdictions. This session will examine the evolving international framework for addressing these issues, with particular focus on the Hague Conference's ongoing work toward a new convention on parallel proceedings.

The session will explore how different legal systems approach the coordination of simultaneous litigation, including:

•            the development and potential impact of the proposed new Hague Convention on parallel proceedings, examining key provisions and implementation challenges;
•            regional frameworks such as the Brussels I and Lugano regimes in Europe, which employ lis pendens and related actions doctrines to prevent conflicting judgments;
•            common law approaches, including the US Colorado River abstention doctrine and forum non conveniens principles; and
•            practical considerations for counsel managing multi-jurisdictional disputes, including strategic implications of competing proceedings and coordination mechanisms.

On 25 July 2024 Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena, President of the Nauru Court of Appeal, and an AIJA Council member as international observer, presented the Narau Declaration on Judicial Wellbeing to the Regional Judicial Conference on Integrity and Judicial Wellbeing.  Eighteen jurisdictions were represented by Chief Justices, Presidents and judicial leaders from 14 countries including England and Wales, the Eastern Caribbean, Canada, Portugal, Nigeria, Ukraine, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Singapore and Australia.  

Seven principles of judicial wellbeing were recognised. A resolution was presented to the UN General Assembly and an international day for judicial well-being has been recognised. It is appropriate that judges, advocates and those concerned with the wellbeing of the judiciary reflect on the impact of the declaration and the steps taken to address growing awareness about the difficulties judicial officers experience when discharging their functions across a range of jurisdictions.

This panel will map pathways for closely held companies to optimise their capital stack. Beyond SAFE/convertible instruments, panelists will explore working with private credit and non‑bank lenders, facilities for holdcos and family businesses, corporate venture capital and senior and mezzanine financing facilities, with attention to how the capital stack may evolve as a family business transitions to a non-family ownership profile. The discussion will include financing structures, finance provider diligence expectations and governance considerations relevant to closely held companies. The panel will also consider how to navigate covenants in a manner that aligns the financing terms with the company’s growth objectives.

Current topics of interest in the oil and gas industry and renewables space, with a focus on Scandinavian countries.

Referral advocates and barristers are exposed to threats and attack because they work at the front line of the justice system. The cab-rank rule to which the referral Bar adheres means that they represent everyone who needs representation however unpopular or unattractive their character or cause. This is essential to ensure the proper working of adversarial justice systems in which referral lawyers operate and is part of ensuring justice for all, giving reality to the rule of law.

Given greater political polarisation, advocates and barristers are being identified as targets for opprobrium, and worse, by radical social media and politicians.

This seminar will explore the different techniques that can be adopted to protect referral lawyers and their roles in this difficult time, while not compromising on basic principles. Representative bodies, such as Bar Councils, CCBE, IBHARI/IBA, and others, have an important role in standing up for both the principles and acting in individual cases of persecution. Work in this area should continue to recognise that a solid defence of independent judiciaries goes hand in glove with defence of the independent Bar. Pressurising states to expedite their processes and ratify the European Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyers in all countries with a referral Bar would go some way towards adding to protection. Overall, the profession needs to sharpen its response to these attacks, build solidarity within national professions and across jurisdictions, and focus work where it really can make a difference to further strengthen our national bars to stand firm for the rule of law. 
 

The exponential growth of the digital economy is powered by data centres, which have an immense and often overlooked thirst for two critical resources: energy and water. This session will dissect the intricate legal and regulatory nexus between water rights and energy supply, which are essential for the operation and cooling of these vital infrastructures. Our panel of experts will explore the mounting challenges of securing water permits in water-scarce regions, structuring power purchase agreements (PPAs) that account for water availability, and navigating the complex web of environmental licensing. We will also analyse the contractual risks, ESG imperatives and innovative legal strategies required to ensure the sustainable development and operation of data centres globally.

This presentation explores the intersection of genetic testing and human rights, focusing on four key areas: (1) privacy; (2) ethics; (3) rights to genetic material; and (4) genetic selection. Issues for discussion include:

• legal protections for genetic privacy, including data protection laws and the right to privacy, highlighting issues such as consent, confidentiality, and the risk of genetic discrimination.

• ownership and access to genetic material, particularly in sensitive situations such as death or divorce. The session will examine how the law addresses disputes over frozen genetic material, the requirements for consent, and relevant case law.

• the ethical and legal implications of genetic selection, including pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and gene editing. The session will consider the balance between individual rights, such as the right to found a family and non-discrimination, and broader societal interests.

The session concludes with an overview of the challenges and future trends in this rapidly evolving area, inviting discussion on how best to protect human rights in the context of advancing genetic technologies.