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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1981
International Bar
Association
Section on General Practice develops
This Section was set up in 1974 to provide a forum for
the exchange of information and views between lawyers in
general practice throughout the world and on all matters
affecting the legal profession, its development and the
improvement of legal services to the public. Its seventeen
committees cover all Fields of general practice, such as
wills and administration of foreign estates, town planning,
family law, civil procedures, estate and tax planning,
defamation and media law and criminal law. The section
now has more than 1300 members from 68 countries and
its current Chairman is John Kennedy, Q.C., of Canada,
Vice-Chairman Giselher Hochstrasser, Switzerland and
Secretary Monty Knoll of South Africa.
In May 1981, the Section held its first Conference in
Lisbon, attended by over 10% of the section membership.
Thirteen of the section's committees met. Topics
discussed included Trusts in no-Trust Jurisdictions, the
International
Recognition
and
Enforcement
of
Judgments and Orders, Current Problems in Criminal
Law — Legal and Human Rights and Narcotic Offences,
the Involvement of Practitioners in Practical Training
Courses for Law Students, Lawyer Advertising, the
Development of Press Laws in Northern and Southern
Europe and Comparisons between the defamation laws in
Eastern Block Countries and the Western World, and
Legal Aid in the 80's, what priorities? In addition, there
were a Section general meeting, council meetings and a
full social programme of excursions and receptions.
The Section's committees will next meet in New Delhi,
18-23 October, 1982 during the IBA's 19th Biennial
Conference, when the Section will have responsibility,
with the IBA's Professional Ethics Committee, for one of
the major conference topics on Standards of Professional
Conduct of Lawyers, the Responsibility for the Control of
such Standards and minimum Standards of Judicial
Independence. Plans for a 1983 Section conference are
already being made.
Two of the Section's committees have already held
successful seminars — the Committee on Law Office
Management and Technology in Munich in 1979 and, in
May 1981, in Lisbon on
How to Maintain Profits and
Improve Communications in the 80's,
and the Commit-
tee on Immigration Law in London in 1979 on
Comparative Immigration Laws,
with a second planned
on the same topic for Washington DC, 8- 10th November,
1981. A seminar on
Continuing Legal Education
is
planned for 1983.
Members of the Section are entitled to receive its
journal "The International Legal Practitioner" which is
published three times each year. The Section's
publications include papers prepared for the Committee
on Real Property's Meeting on the Impact of Planning
Restrictions,
Building
Controls,
Environmental
Considerations and Private Rights of Adjoining owners
on the Development of Real Property; the Proceedings of
the Law Office Management and Technology Seminars in
1979 and 1981 and their 1978 Meeting on Computers in
the Law Office and the Proceedings of the Comparative
Immigration Law Seminar.
Any member of the IBA can join the Section, entitling
him to attend section conferences, reduced fees for
Section seminars and publications, receipt of its journal
and to participate in the work of the committees. Details
of how to join the IBA and the Section are available from
the IBA, Byron House, 7/9 St. James's Street, London
SW1A
1EE.
Section on Business Law —
Environmental Law Committee
The Environment Law Committee of the IBA's Section
on Business Law, was established approximately ten
years ago to act as a forum for the exchange of views and
information among practising lawyers, interested in
environmental laws, to promote the discussion, practice
and teaching of environmental law both internationally
and nationally and to keep under review material
developments in such laws world-wide.
The Committee works in liaison with the UN
environmental programme and has participated in UN
non-governmental organisation's conference in Geneva
and New York. From 29 March - 2nd April, 1981 the
Committee organised its First residential Seminar in
Cambridge, England choosing for its topic Planning Law
for Industry. The Seminar was designed to beneFit
lawyers having industrial clients, working in Legal
Departments in Industry, or advising governmental
authorities on planning matters. Topics included EEC
directives and law, Proving the need, Environmental
impact analysis, Conservation and restoration, the
"Developer pays" Principle, Effects on infra-structure,
Health and Safety, Waste disposal, Control of new
industry and State aids and taxation. The proceedings,
comprising 32 papers and a summary of the discussions,
have been published in two volumes and are available
from the IBA ofFice, 7-9 St. James's Street, London,
SW1A 1EE.
Such was the success of this Seminar that a second is
being organised to be held at the National 4-H Centre in
Washington D.C. from the 4th to the 8th April 1982.
During the course of the Seminar, questions arose
concerning disclosure of documents held on a
"Confidential Basis". Accordingly, two small working
parties have been set up, one under the Chairmanship of
John Spens of Maclay, Murray and Spens in Glasgow,
dealing with the laws of Scotland and one under the
Chairmanship of John Salter of Denton Hall & Burgin,
London, dealing with the laws of England and Wales. The
AM & S
case now before the European Court of Justice
will be examined in some detail, as will the production of
conFidential documents by "in-house" legal advisers in
the context, for example, of the exercise of powers by
EEC inspectors and by planning Inspectors (or Reporters
in Scotland) during the course of monitoring industrial
plant performance or of an Inquiry into an industrial
planning application.
The Committee has also published a book of the
papers presented at its 1976 Meetings in Stockholm on
'The Rights of an Individual against Acts of Pollution'. A
second (extended) edition is in preparation.
The Committee will meet at the IBA Conference to be
held in New Delhi, 17-23 October, 1982, where the main
topic will be Environmental Impacts of Alternative
Energy Sources. •
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