War was the theme of this year’s IBA’s litigation forum. Amid disputes arising from conflict, sanctions and the erosion of the rules-based international order, lawyers from 60 jurisdictions discussed how the world has ‘lost its compass’
Rarely has the programme of a major legal conference been such a hostage to current events. The theme of this year’s annual litigation forum, organised in Madrid by the International Bar Association, was war. And the rolling news updates last week kept 420-odd lawyers from 60 jurisdictions on tenterhooks as they met under the slogan: ‘The world has lost its compass: we need to talk about litigators!’