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NOVEMBER 1992
GAZETTE
N
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IBA to Focus on Human Rights
The newly-elected President of the
International Bar Association,
Claude Thomson,
QC, has said the
implementation of the Association's
recently approved human rights
action plan would be an urgent
priority in the coming months. "We
are being given a chance to make a
meaningful contribution to the
struggle for human rights and the
rule of law around the world" said
Mr. Thomson.
Mr. Thomson was elected President of
the International Bar Association for
a two year term at its Annual
Conference which took place in
Cannes from 20-25 September last.
The conference, which was the IBA's
24th biennial gathering, saw a record
attendance of over 2,800 lawyers from
100 countries including more than 800
speakers and over 950 guests.
Approximately 25 members of the
Law Society attended the conference,
including the then President of the
Law Society,
Adrian Bourke.
At the Conference,
John F. Buckley,
Consultant Partner at Beauchamps,
(member of the Editorial Board of
the
Gazette
and Chairman of the
Law Society's Publications
Committee), was elected Chairman
of the IBA Section on General
Practice, which has a current
membership of 2,800.
All 56 specialist committees of the
IBA's three sections held one or two
day meetings during the conference
week. The highlights included:
• "Issues affecting Life and
Death", a showcase programme
involving the arguments for and
against compulsion by court order
of the discontinuance of life
support systems, and mandatory
testing for Aids.
• " The Environment and Crime"
- in which Lord Justice Wolfe of
the English Court of Appeal,
called for a UK and European
Environmental Court to supervise
compliance with EC
Environmental standards.
Claude Thomson, Q.C., newly-elected
President, International Bar Association.
• " . . . . and Justice for A l l " - a
comparison of legal aid systems
around the world.
The newly elected President of the
IBA, Claude Thomson, QC graduated
from Osgoode Hall Law School in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was
called to the Bar of Ontario in 1958.
He is Chairman of the National
Partnership of Fasken Martineau and
served as President of the Canadian
Bar Association in 1984-1985.
Commenting on his election, Mr.
Thomson said "the IBA is one of
the most powerful legal organisations
for bringing together lawyers from
around the world to discuss issues of
international importance. Some of
the major issues facing the legal
profession are: the responsibility and
accountability of professional
advisers, the mobility of lawyers -
particularly across national
boundaries - the administration of
justice in developing countries,
multi-disciplinary firms, legal aid
and equal opportunity for women
and minorities in the profession and
the access and cost of legal service".
Other IBA Officers who were elected
were:-
• Vice President: Professor
J. Ross
Harper,
Harpers MacLeod,
Glasgow, Scotland.
• Secretary General:
Desmond
Fernando,
Columbo, Sri Lanka.
• Treasurer:
Walter Kolvenbach,
Heuking Kuehn Herold Kunz and
Partners, Dusseldorf, Germany.
• Chairman of Section of Business
Law:
Robert Briner,
Lenz &
Staehelln. Geneva, Switzerland.
• Chairman of the Section on
Energy and National Resources
Law:
Stephen B. Pfeiffer,
Fullbright & Jaworski,
Washington, USA.
•
Technology News
(Continued from page 357)
graphics and sound. They also allow
for interactive use and may provide
the basis of expert legal systems and
legal training in the near future. The
rapid development of CD-ROM
technology together with the
expanding range of legal material
available looks set to make this
medium an important element of
legal information resources over the
next few years.
•
References
(1) The most comprehensive listing may
be found in
Law Databases 1991
Sarah J. Nichols (Aslib: The
Association for Information
Management London 1991) See also
"Keeping Abreast of Databases"
Sarah Nichols,
The Lawyer
26 May,
1992 and "Comercial Intelligence"
Finance
Magazine August, 1991.
(2) Lexis is perhaps the best known on-
line service in the legal area
providing access to Irish and United
Kingdom law reports as well as
United States and Commonwealth
judgements. It also provides access to
a range of European Community
material and to United Kingdom
statutory material. See "Going the
Distance" Melanie Jappy,
The
Lawyer
26 May, 1992.
(3) See "Nice and CD does i t" Neil
Cameron,
Solicitors Journal
26 June,
1992.
(4) Susan Breed provided a quick
overview of available CD-ROMS
relevant to legal practice in " CD-
ROM-memories are made of this"
The Lawyer
12 March, 1991.
Comprehensive listings are contained
in "CD-ROMs in P r i n t" published
by Meckler Ltd. and " The CD-ROM
Directory" published by TFPL on an
annual basis.
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