December 2011:
Report on International Legal Conference held in Mosow, Russia
Ricardo Wyngaard attended the International Legal Conference on 1 and 2 December in Moscow, Russia. The conference was hosted by the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) and the Russian News Agency (RIANOVOSTI). The conference focused on Law and Modernisation and delegates discussed, amongst other, the role of the government, judicial system, lawyers and media agencies at improving citizens understanding of the law. The conference was attended by a diverse number of delegates from various sectors impacting on the legal fraternity, including, lawyers, judicial officers, NGOs, government and media agencies.
During the plenary session on 1 December, the speakers discussed, amongst other, measures and implementation of the Russian Federation’s state policy to improve citizens’ knowledge and understanding of the law and the implementation of state policy to reform the legal profession. It was clear from the plenary session that a number of new laws have been promulgated in Russia during 2011. It was also clear that one of the challenges in Russia, as in many other countries, is the communication of those laws to the general public and the effective implementation thereof. In doing so, the media agencies played an important role in the conference and reported on both positive and negative trends in their experiences with the legal system. It was an important opportunity for the media and legal agencies to come up with a firm platform that should provide the framework for future collaboration that will benefit the broader society.
Some of the challenges being experienced by the legal fraternity in Russia are not much different from those being experienced in South Africa. As globalization spreads, the need to have a legal system that takes into account foreign investors is becoming increasingly important. This naturally means cross border interaction between legal systems and law firms. It was clear from the conference that Russia is in the process of grappling with such developments. For some, these developments are a necessity and, for others, such developments are less appealing as it would naturally increase competition.
During the plenary session on 1 December, the speakers discussed, amongst other, measures and implementation of the Russian Federation’s state policy to improve citizens’ knowledge and understanding of the law and the implementation of state policy to reform the legal profession. It was clear from the plenary session that a number of new laws have been promulgated in Russia during 2011. It was also clear that one of the challenges in Russia, as in many other countries, is the communication of those laws to the general public and the effective implementation thereof. In doing so, the media agencies played an important role in the conference and reported on both positive and negative trends in their experiences with the legal system. It was an important opportunity for the media and legal agencies to come up with a firm platform that should provide the framework for future collaboration that will benefit the broader society.
Some of the challenges being experienced by the legal fraternity in Russia are not much different from those being experienced in South Africa. As globalization spreads, the need to have a legal system that takes into account foreign investors is becoming increasingly important. This naturally means cross border interaction between legal systems and law firms. It was clear from the conference that Russia is in the process of grappling with such developments. For some, these developments are a necessity and, for others, such developments are less appealing as it would naturally increase competition.
