IBA podcast

In mid-2024, the UK enacted a law quashing the convictions of hundreds of sub-postmasters after many were wrongly prosecuted for theft and fraud due to accounting errors in the software – Horizon – used by their employer, the Post Office. This scandal, alongside other recent controversies, has placed the spotlight on IT outsourcing projects and the potential pitfalls, both for buyers and for the public.

More than 60 national elections have already taken place or will do so during 2024 – almost a third of them in Asia. Given its significant presence on the world stage, India's election has been one of the most closely watched. The country's lengthy voting process draws to a conclusion in early June in what's expected to be a victory for incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. But questions remain over the implications for human rights and the rule of law in a country of over 1.4 billion people. This podcast addresses the situation in India, Pakistan and Asia more broadly.

The Council of Europe recently voted to use seized Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction. The US House of Representatives has approved billions of dollars in aid to help Ukraine combat Russia's invasion, also authorising the US government to take frozen Russian central bank assets held in US jurisdictions to help rebuild the country. In April, Ukraine's Register of Damage started taking claims relating to residential property – a first step in the international compensation mechanism, a framework established in response to recommendations by the UN.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which sits at the southern tip of the Red Sea, has become an increasingly dangerous chokepoint off the coast of Yemen, with the rebel Houthi group targeting merchant and other ships there linked to Israel, the US or UK for attack or seizure. The group's motive is ‘retribution' for Israel's war in Gaza. The US and the UK and others have taken military action in response to the Houthi attacks, which have had a significant impact on global trade, as well as on delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen. Escalating conflict in the Middle East looks set to have continued impact on the Red Sea situation.

Following Vladimir Putin's election victory for a fifth term – in a vote criticised by many international observers – Global Insight considers the significance of the result, the state of rule of law in Russia, and the major challenges now facing the international community and the Kremlin.

Despite being stretched financially, the ICC is not shying away from tackling the crimes perpetrated during conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and elsewhere. In this interview with IBA Director of Content James Lewis, Karim Khan KC speaks passionately about the significance of issuing an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin and the importance of moving at the speed of relevance.

The death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on 19 February shocked the world.  Global leaders were quick to condemn the Russian authorities for their role in the 47-year-old's sudden and unexplained death. In the days that followed, hundreds of Russian civilians were arrested for laying tributes to the Kremlin critic.  Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, spoke to Global Insight recently about what life was like behind bars for members of the opposition, and why it's so important for Russian citizens to keep challenging the regime both from inside and outside Russia. 

Tech giants wield significant power in our daily lives. The scale at which they operate and their innovative use of technology can lead, however, to challenges in keeping their power in check on a number of fronts. This podcast assesses the ways in which governments, regulators, lawyers and the courts – as well as the tech companies themselves through self-regulation – are currently attempting to do this. 

It's clear from reactions to COP28 that although some progress was made in the form of pledges and other agreements by states and corporations, for many the pace of change is too slow and action does not go far enough.  Recognising the effect that the climate crisis is having and will continue to have on human rights, particularly in the world's poorest countries, the UN appointed a Special Rapporteur in this area in 2022. In this Global Insight podcast, IBA Multimedia Journalist Yola Verbruggen talks to the UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights, Ian Fry, about his mandate, the challenge of getting countries on board, climate refugees and potential legal routes to justice and accountability, such as climate litigation.

The legal landscape across Asia for LGBTQI+ rights is varied. Despite same-sex relationships being legal in many Asian countries – with Singapore most recently repealing Section 377A of its Penal Code, which criminalised sex between consenting males – in others they can be punishable by fines, prison and even the death penalty.   Most Asian countries do not legally recognise formal unions for same sex couples, but there have been some recent developments on this front. Certain Asian countries have either legalised or moved towards legalising same sex marriage - with Taiwan doing so in 2019, Nepal registering its first such marriage in November 2023 and Thailand currently set to vote on a same-sex marriage bill. However, an October 2023 Supreme Court ruling in India declined to recognise same sex marriage.

Diego García Sayán was the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges from 2016–2022. Prior to this he performed numerous roles within the UN, was a judge on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and held positions in the government of his native Peru. In this interview with the IBA's Director of Content, James Lewis, he discusses major rule of law themes, including his involvement in peace negotiations in Latin America, reform of the UN, the importance of the 2030 sustainability agenda, and how to protect the independence of lawyers and judges.

Former President Donald Trump is facing a series of ongoing legal troubles, in this podcast we focus on some of Trump's criminal indictments. These include allegations that he violated Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, conspired to defraud the US, mishandled classified documents and falsified business records. He has pleaded not guilty or otherwise denied the charges in all cases.

An influx of billionaire owners and private equity into the English Premier League has put club governance, and the financial sustainability of the wider game, under scrutiny in recent years. As the Premier League season got underway amidst a plethora of disruptive transfers to Saudi Arabia, the UK government reported on its consultations with the professional football community on governance, following the publication of a White Paper earlier in the year. Could its proposals hold the answers?

The effect of the climate crisis are set to have a disproportionate impact on developing countries. Significant attention is now being paid to what should be done, and by whom, to mitigate the consequences and upload human rights. So what does this ‘climate justice mean'?

From chatbots to smart assistants to powerful algorithms, AI is everywhere, bringing with it opportunities and potential benefits, but also ethical and practical concerns. The law is crucial in addressing a technology that has the potential to outpace human development. This podcast examines issues of ethics, liability and applications of AI to the legal profession, as well as the challenges of implementing regulatory frameworks around AI.

The role of corporations in being part of both the problem and the solution of the climate crisis and sustainability has never been more pronounced. Pressure from activist investors and financial institutions is holding companies increasingly accountable for their environmental, social and governance, or ESG, performance. This podcast addresses the role of lawyers in the intersection of climate change, sustainability and corporate governance.

2022 was a tumultuous year for cryptocurrencies. One of the world's largest crypto exchanges, FTX, collapsed, filing for bankruptcy in November – and it wasn't the only casualty, as other exchanges as well as crypto hedge funds also went under during the year. In this Global Insight podcast, we question whether the crypto industry needs greater regulation, or greater enforcement of regulation – or perhaps both.

Evgenia Kara-Murza is the wife of Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is currently imprisoned in Russia on charges of treason. In this interview with James Lewis, IBA Director of Content, she discusses her husband's and her own activism, the media in Russia, the repressive Putin regime, and how she maintains hope in the darkest of times.

The war in Ukraine has compelled countries to impose increasingly stringent sanctions on Russia. However, the effectiveness of sanctions, and their implications for human rights, are coming under growing scrutiny. This Global Insight podcast examines the intended – and unintended – consequences of this foreign policy and security tool.

As November's COP27 environmental conference focuses minds on the climate crisis, Global Insight examines the tools available within the law to effect change and accountability. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in climate litigation worldwide as claimants seek to hold both governments and corporate actors to account for how their actions – or inactions – are contributing to the climate crisis. Cases have focused on a variety of human rights concerns and areas including energy transition, emissions reductions and protecting biodiversity. In this podcast, IBA Global Insight assesses the trends in climate litigation and looks at its potential long-term impact.

From Europe to the Pacific Ocean, China is set to play an ever-greater role in the world. It has deepened its strategic alliance with Russia, and China's moves in respect of the Ukraine conflict are therefore closely watched. Meanwhile, observers speculate as to what action action - if any - it might take forward towards Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of China. Democratic countries are also taking further steps to counter Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region.

In August 2021, the Taliban takeover and withdrawal of international troops triggered a refugee crisis and Afghanistan descended into chaos. One year on, Global Insight assesses the impact of these events – both on those who fled and those still left behind. 

In this Global Insight podcast, we examine how both the corporate world and the international justice system can hold perpetrators of war crimes and the crime of aggression to account, and assess the failures of international systems to provide security to date.

For years, multinationals have frustrated world governments with the innovative ways they've avoided hefty tax bills. But in October 2021, the G20 – comprising 19 countries and the European Union – formally agreed to impose a new global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declared that this ‘historic agreement' will ‘end the damaging race to the bottom on corporation taxation'.

In this Global Insight interview, Martyn Day, co-founder of law firm Leigh Day, reflects on some of the most important cases he's been involved in, including taking on the UK Ministry of Defence over allegations of British Army mistreatment of civilians and detainees – themes once again in the spotlight with news of SAS activity in Afghanistan. 

The United States Supreme Court has overturned the constitutional right to abortion. Ruling in the case Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Court went beyond Mississippi's request to allow it to ban abortion after 15 weeks' pregnancy and fully overturned the two previous Supreme Court rulings, Roe and Casey, that had for 49 years made it unconstitutional to outlaw abortions pre-viability – that is, before a foetus could survive outside the womb, at around 24 weeks. Now, states will be able to restrict and ban abortion at any point in pregnancy.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated the worst consequences of allowing oligarchs and other rich and powerful actors to exploit international legal and financial systems.  In this Global Insight podcast, we look at growing concerns over the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) – an intimidation tool frequently used to silence journalists, activists, critics and other public watchdogs.

In summer 2020, the statue of Edward Colston, a merchant and trader of enslaved persons, was toppled by protestors and pushed into the harbour in Bristol, England. The statue's removal provoked both public applause and condemnation. The so-called ‘Colston Four' were acquitted of criminal damage in January 2022; but the UK's Attorney General is currently seeking clarification from the Court of Appeal over the legal arguments presented in the case. 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February, has resulted in the displacement of millions of Ukrainians. The responses taken by governments around the world – such as the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive by the EU – and the challenges being faced have prompted questions around how best to assist displaced people, while the situation has also highlighted the continuing plight of refugees from Afghanistan and other crisis zones.  In this Global Insight podcast, we explore the unprecedented reaction to the plight of Ukrainian refugees and the need for a coordinated, compassionate international response, and assess the situation for displaced people from other conflict zones, such as Afghanistan. Discussing these issues are:   Matt Saltmarsh, Head of News and Media for the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR; Greg Siskind, Vice-Chair of the IBA Immigration and Nationality Law Committee and a founding partner at Siskind Susser in Memphis; and Alex Stojicevic, Refugee Officer of the IBA Immigration and Nationality Law Committee and founding and managing partner of MKS Lawyers in Vancouver.

As Sandie Okoro moves on from her position as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of the World Bank Group, Global Insight looks back to her interview with IBAHRI Director Helena Kennedy in late 2021 in this edited podcast. Okoro discusses her varied experiences in the legal profession, the importance of diversity, inclusion and adaptability in business, the role of General Counsel and the mission and workings of the World Bank.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shone a light on the challenges of prosecuting war criminals. Global Insight interviewed Professor Philip Leach earlier this year, as he was stepping down from his role as director of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre. Leach, a professor of human rights law at Middlesex University, spoke to us again a month after the conflict began.

Despite weeks of escalating tensions, the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in the early hours of 24th February shocked the world. Just days earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was recognising the rebel-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. Up to that point, a full-scale invasion had seemed almost inconceivable, but suddenly Europe was faced with its largest conflict since the Second World War. In this Global Insight podcast, we look at the background to the Ukraine crisis, Russia's hybrid warfare campaign and the role of sanctions in fighting aggression and autocracy. Examining these issues are:  Olga Lautman, an expert in Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe and a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Bill Browder is CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and a long-time supporter of stronger sanctions against Russia. Daria Kaleniuk, executive director and co-founded of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre in Kyiv (AntAC) 

In this podcast, drawn from an interview at the IBA's Global Showcase event in late 2021, Fawzia Koofi speaks about the devastating impact of the Taliban takeover, particularly on women's rights and religious minorities. She also addresses the US withdrawal from the country and shares her views on the role of the international community in the crisis. Koofi is a prominent Afghan politician and activist, who was nominated in 2020 for the Nobel Peace Prize for her role in representing the Afghan government in negotiations with the Taliban and her work to uphold women's rights in the country.  Formerly a member of the Afghan Parliament and the Vice-President of the National Assembly, she is now the leader of a newly established political party, Movement for Change for Afghanistan – and the first woman to lead a political party in the country.  The situation in Afghanistan remains volatile. As reports reveal up to 8 million people are facing starvation, Koofi's hopes and fears for the country's future are all the more significant. 

The assault on the United States Capitol on 6 January 2021 represents perhaps the starkest manifestation of a US democracy in crisis. But the strains on democracy have been evident elsewhere - from a plethora of bills being put forward across state legislatures that critics warn undermine voting rights, to a series of controversies surrounding the make-up and even legitimacy of the US Supreme Court, itself a vital component of the US democratic apparatus.  Assessing the issues are: Sarah Turberville, Director of the Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight Sophia Lin Lakin, Deputy Director of the Voting Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union Professor Paul Smith, Professor From Practice at Georgetown Law and Vice President for Litigation and Strategy at the Campaign Legal Center Fred Davis, former Co-Chair of the IBA Business Crime Committee and a lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School

It is almost two decades since the International Criminal Court was established to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity. In this podcast, Global Insight speaks to the first two prosecutors – Luis Moreno Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda – and one of the ICC's key special advisers – Leila Sadat – about the ongoing challenges facing the ICC and what lies ahead for the Court as its third prosecutor, Karim Khan, settles into the role.

COP26 in Glasgow aims to accelerate movement towards the targets set in the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. With the Covid-19 pandemic delaying 2020's talks and urgent action needed to address the climate crisis, the world will be watching closely - not only the immediate outcomes, but longer-term efforts made by states and the private sector.

In early 2021, a joint report from four criminal justice watchdogs found significant delays plaguing access to justice in England and Wales – with 54,000 unheard cases as of the beginning of the year. Some of these cases may not be heard until 2023 or even 2024.  As Dominic Raab becomes the eighth Justice Secretary in a decade, the challenge to address the record backlog and fix Britain's broken justice system has never been more acute.  In this podcast, our speakers discuss the causes and impact of the backlog and the measures proposed to alleviate them, including reopening Crown courtrooms, expanding the Nightingale temporary court system until March 2022 and modifying 71 courtrooms to hold large, multi-hander trials.

The Duma elections in Russia in September 2021 will define the composition of Russia's lower house of parliament for the next five years. They come at a testing time for the Pro-Putin ruling party Edinaya Rossiya, whose popularity has plummeted following the controversial decision to raise the state retirement age in 2018 and, more recently, its mishandling of the pandemic. In this IBA Global Insight podcast, we look at the continued efforts by the Russian authorities to suppress dissent and silence critics like Alexei Navalny and what these measures mean for the rule of law.

Over the past decade, the legal and judicial systems of some EU member states have frequently been at odds with the EU's requirements of independence, impartiality and adherence to the rule of law.  Political appointments of judges and often spurious proceedings against them are among the issues causing tension, and Covid-19 has caused further aggravation. Despite employing various measures to effect change, the situation has not improved. So what can be done?

Around the world, attacks on journalists and the press are growing exponentially. In this podcast, Global Insight examines the challenges and why freedom of expression and the media is so fundamental to a transparent and progressive society.  

President Biden’s swift measures to put climate action back on the agenda for the United States at the start of his term show the impact elections can have. This podcast explores the international influence of the US and Chinese climate policies, the relationship between populism and climate inaction and the importance of global collaboration in tackling the climate crisis. 

China's ambition and growth over the past two decades has been well documented, but what lies ahead? This podcast explores shifts in China's economic model, trade and technology, and assesses the potential impact of human rights and other issues on the country's development.

The Chinese government stands accused of genocide against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province. China rejects the allegations. This podcast considers the measures the international community should be taking. 

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers on the US economic situation and how the Biden administration should approach the issues

The US presidential election in November presents an opportunity to take stock of the last four years and the Trump administration, which many agree has been characterised by a destructive approach to the international liberal order.   In this podcast, foreign affairs experts Charlene Barshefsky, John Bellinger and Richard Haass give their views on how the United States should reengage and rebuild in 2021.

In this podcast, Dr Margaret Ng, member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong between 1995 and 2012 and a founding member of the pro-democracy Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group, discusses the implications of the national security law recently enacted in Hong Kong by China, in conversation with IBA Multimedia Journalist Jennifer Venis.    The law has come under criticism for its draconian measures and a lack of consultation pre-implementation with the people of Hong Kong, and is widely seen as undermining the established concept of ‘one country, two systems’. #humanrights

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and Sara Elizabeth Dill, Arab Regional Forum Liaison Officer for the IBA War Crimes Committee, consider the issues and look at specific developments across the Middle East. #humanrights

States have taken drastic action to combat Covid-19. But there is clear potential for abuse of the situation and a detrimental effect on the rule of law, says Baroness Helena Kennedy. #humanrights

In the wake of the Weinstein trial, Global Insight assesses how legal and judicial systems continue to let down victims of sexual harassment and violence  #ustoo

Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, discusses his role and the difficulties involved, as well as recent protests in the country and the repressive response of the State #country

David Miliband speaks about migration, the climate crisis and the need for passion, as well as reason, in confronting populism #humanrights