Conference formally opened by Roy Martin, QC

 

The much-anticipated World Bar Conference 2016 has been opened by Roy Martin, QC, the former Dean of Faculty who is chairing the event.

Mr Martin was involved in the inaugural biennial conference of the International Council of Advocates and Barristers (ICAB) 14 years ago, and he said it was a particular pleasure to welcome back to Edinburgh so many of those who had attended in 2002.

“One of the principal reasons for the holding of these conferences, and the creation of ICAB, was to allow the independent referral bars of all of the jurisdictions in which there is a divided profession to promote the rule of law, the interests of justice, human rights and the independence of the judiciary, and to address the threats to these which exist throughout the world,” Mr Martin told delegates at the National Museum of Scotland.

“But these conferences are not just about the serious topics of the law and justice. They are an opportunity for those of us at the bar to renew old friendships and to make new ones…I know how valuable the existence and the fostering of such relationships can be not just for personal enjoyment but also for the advancement of our profession in each jurisdiction.”

Mr Martin noted that as host of this year’s Conference, the Faculty had taken on the mantle following the very successful 2014 event organised by the New Zealand Bar Association.

“For those of us who were there, it certainly satisfied all of the expectations and traditions of the World Bar Conferences in the past and we hope to emulate it, even if we cannot provide a gala dinner reached by cable car,” he added.

“Now, such conferences do not happen by accident, and I wish to pay tribute to the Organising Committee led by Anna Poole, QC, the Faculty Superintendent Irene Cumming and her staff, the Faculty solicitor Carole Ferguson-Walker and the Dean’s Secretariat, and all of those others who have made this event happen.

“It is therefore my privilege to declare open the 2016 World Bar Conference.”

The Conference website is at http://wbc.advocates.org.uk