Section on Business Law (SBL)

 

The Section on Business Law (SBL)  will discuss the most pertinent issues in corporate and commercial law on the continent. Building on last year’s theme of approaching the fight against corruption as a business law issue, it will discuss experiences and strategies for Asset Recovery litigation, and further introduce the draft PALU Code of Ethics on Anti-Corruption and Professional Compliance Standards for Lawyers. It will also analyse the link between Corruption and Illicit Financial Flows, especially in the extractive industry in Africa, and discuss Business and Human Rights, especially practical implications of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) for lawyers in Africa and their clients.

 

Section on Legal Practice (SLP)

 

The Section on Legal Practice (SLP)  will analyse the growing opportunities for Arbitration practice in Africa; discuss the impact of New Technologies for the Legal Profession; analyse the use of Plea Bargaining; and further assess the development and implementation of regional standards on the right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings. We will also have a high-level Panel on Law, Peace and Security in Africa.

 

Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL)

 

The Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) which will discuss emerging strategies for protecting lawyers, journalists and Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), who are increasingly being killed, unlawfully detained or harassed as they perform their duties; highlight opportunities for lawyers and lawyers’ associations in the African Governance Architecture (AGA); discuss the impact of International criminal justice in Africa, and the prospects for national prosecutions using international criminal law. In the African Union’s Year of Human Rights, with a Special Focus on the Rights of Women, our Women Lawyers’ Forum will host a high-level panel on the Status of Women in the Legal Profession in Africa, as well as a Session on litigating the ‘Maputo Protocol’ on the Rights of Women in Africa. We will also discuss draft Guiding Principles for decriminalisation and declassification of petty offences in Africa.