| The Annual Conference
2004 of the International Bar Association (IBA) was held
in Auckland, New Zealand from October 24, 2004. The IBA
is the largest global organization of the legal profession
and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) is its
organization member.
After the opening ceremony on October 24, legal professionals
from all over the world discussed enthusiastically in
various sessions regarding human rights, commercial law,
international law, and legal practices, and principal
issues were considered at the Council Meeting.
From the JFBA, 5 delegates including Mr. Hiroshi Tanaka,
Vice President, and Mr. Akira Kawamura, IBA Council representing
the JFBA, participated in the Conference. They attended
main sessions and had meetings vigorously with foreign
legal professionals to exchange information.
In this Conference, the IBA structure was fundamentally
reformed. The existing IBA sections were consolidated
into two new divisions: the Legal Practice Division (LPD)
and the Public and Professional Interest Division (PPID),
and the PPID includes the newly established Bar Issue
Commission (BIC) and the existing Human Rights Institute
(HRI).
Mr. Kawamura, IBA Council representing the JFBA, was
elected as Chair of the BIC. The BIC is a body to internationally
discuss significant issues which bar associations are
facing. Its establishment was an especially important
event in this restructuring, and its chair is considered
as one of the key positions at the IBA. Mr. Kawamura s
assumption indicates that the JFBAs efforts for international
activities were highly and internationally recognized.
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