High profile group of Speakers at LAWASIA Golden Jubilee Conference
LAWASIA, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific, will celebrate its Golden Jubilee at its 29th conference to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, hosted and organised by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka from 12-15 August. The annual LAWASIA conference is
The speakers for this conference will be drawn from more than twenty jurisdictions in Asia, the Pacific and beyond, ensuring a lively and wide-ranging approach to the material.
The Head of the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, Joao Ribeiro is among the high profile speakers who will share his expertise with conference delegates. Mr. Ribeiro will address a plenary session on the topic:
Role of UNCITRAL in trade and economic development.
In addition to his UNCITRAL expertise, Mr. Ribeiro’s experience is drawn from other roles he has held, including Head of International Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of Portugal, Deputy Secretary General of the Conferences of Ministers of Justice of the Iberian-american countries and Portuguese speaking countries, member of the Portuguese National Commission for Human Rights and member of the Portuguese Permanent Bilateral Cooperation Commissions with the USA and Macau.
A further plenary session will be addressed by Mrs. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, fifth President of Sri Lanka. Her views on the topic of Reconciliation will be of undoubted interest to local and international delegates alike.
The conference work programme comprises 25 streamed work sessions to augment the plenary offerings, with a range of topical themes promoting regional discourse on current matters of legal interest. Of particular relevance to the region’s legal community will be a session on alternative dispute resolution, which will focus not only on the more traditional area of arbitration but will also include an examination of the growth and efficacy of community mediation in Sri Lanka.
A n environmental law session will focus on air pollution in Asian cities and will be addressed by the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales in Australia, Justice Brian Preston SC. He will be joined on this panel by eminent judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane, well known in Sri Lankan legal circles as a pioneering woman lawyer and judge.
Ms. Amy Rose, Head of Strategic Litigation at Client Earth, an NGO devoted to using the law and legal tools to contribute to environmental campaigns and Mr. Shyam Divan, an eminent Indian advocate in environmental matters will complete the panel.
A session that will provide perspectives on the topic of the judicial review of executive decisions and legislative action boasts three very eminent speakersPresident of the Malaysian Bar Steven Thiruneelakandan, Sri Lankan MP Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne and Additional Solicitor General for India Dr. Pinky Anandto examine this topic from the differing experiences in their own jurisdictions.
Commercial lawyers are well catered to in the conference programme, with several sessions bringing regional perspectives to the effects of approaches such as the Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBPR) and to current thinking
The conference work programme comprises 25 streamed work sessions to augment the plenary offerings, with a range of topical themes promoting regional discourse on current matters of legal interest
about how to foster economic integration between Europe and Asia in trade and investments.
Similarly, sessions on intellectual property, media law, IT law, banking, finance and taxation will all provide regional coverage of latest developments to enhance the knowledge of business lawyers.
The LAWASIA Judicial Section, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of New South Wales in Australia, TF Bathurst, is mounting a plenary session to be addressed by Justice Virginia Bell AC of Australia’s High Court and Justice Steven Chong from Singapore’s Supreme Court and former Singapore Attorney General.
The 2016 lecture will be delivered by Dr. Gordon Hughes, who in addition to being a prominent Australian and international expert in IT and intellectual property law has presided over LAWASIA, the Law Council of Australia and the Law Institute of Victoria. Dr. Hughes will focus his remarks on the role played by the legal profession and its representative bodies in protecting human rights and public interest.