Press releases
The third IBA Europe-Caucasus-Asia Forum has been successfully held in Almaty
Dear Colleagues,
The third IBA Europe-Caucasus-Asia Forum has been successfully held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, bringing together 110 current and future leaders of legal profession from 25 jurisdictions and 34 cities from as far as Washington D.C., Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and major Western and Eastern European cities. It’s been a particularly important year for us, as for the first time an IBA conference of such calibre has parachuted into Central Asia with far-reaching plans for a deeper presence in the region.
During the Forum days the delegates have debated some of the thorniest issues for the ECA region. To mention a few: the standards of professional regulation investors expect in the emerging markets, the challenges of the newly established Astana International Financial Centre that seeks to become a regional hub, and impediments to the implementation of cross-border transactions involving parties from the Eurasian Economic Union. The Forum participants have also discussed the most recent developments in the legal and fiscal regimes in the region’s mineral resource producing countries. The serious impact of the recently enacted EU General Data Protection Regulation on the business processes in the ECA countries was another topical issue.
The conference programme was enriched by two complimentary workshops run by top experts in their respective fields. One was dedicated to the career path of becoming an arbitrator, the other one was held in the form of an interview on understanding international legal directories, their role in the legal markets, and improving firms’ rankings.
Mr Martin Šolc, President of the IBA, and Ms Irina Paliashvili, the founder of the Forum’s predecessor CIS LCN Forum, have addressed the delegates emphasising the role that our professional conference might play as a platform for a civilized, pragmatic and very open discussion of most cutting-edge issues. This year’s Forum has served as a good example of such platform. Since the event has become not only cross-border but also cross-generational, we have invited a young but accomplished legal scholar Dr Valentin Jeutner of Oxford and Lund Universities to speak on behalf of the newer generation of lawyers on the ethical dilemmas they are preparing to be facing throughout their professional lives.
Following a long-standing tradition, the Forum has offered a high-quality cultural programme. We have visited the famous Green Market to experience the true flavour of Central Asia, went to Medeo, the world's largest high-mountain skating rink at 1700m altitude, which hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games, and took a cable car to get to Shymbulak, Central Asia’s top skiing centre at 2200m above sea level. At the Closing Gala Dinner, the “Aksaray” Theatre of National Traditions has given a wonderful performance.
The Co-Chairs of the Forum would like to thank all of the attendees and express special thanks to the Local Host Committee comprised of AEQUITAS, Kalikova & Associates, and Unicase, as well as to Alida Solutions and Ms Yelena Bychkova for making this event a success.
Please enjoy photos from the IBA ECA Forum 2018 at the following link. We have deliberately not selected the photos we ourselves liked most and decided to let you have access to most of pictures taken by the photographer Mr Maxim Zolotukhin. Of course, when the ECA Forum’s website is launched (which we plan to do in the coming future) only selected photos will be posted.
Here is also the link to all the presentations prepared by the speakers. In order to get access to the presentations, you need to download the archive.
Thank you everyone for coming and we look forward to seeing you next year!
Valikhan Shaikenov
Co-Chair of the ECA Forum, AEQUITAS, Almaty, Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution
On behalf of
the ECA Forum’s Co-Chairs:
Jörg Menzer, Noerr, Bucharest, Partner; Council Member, IBA Section on Public and Professional Interest
Maria Ostashenko, ALRUD, Moscow, Partner
Lana Sinichkina, Arzinger, Kiev, Partner; ECA Liaison Officer, IBA European Regional Forum