IBA Auckland 2004

BILL Clinton once said, “I think every person…dreams of finding an enchanted place with beautiful mountains and breathtaking coastlines, clear lakes and amazing wildlife, but most give up on it, because they’ve never been to New Zealand.” South Africa and the US were always going to be hard acts to follow but, this year, the International Bar Association is making its way to New Zealand for its annual conference.

Anyone who has ever attended an IBA conference will know how well-run and well-attended they are. Much of this has to do with the fact that there are 150 law sessions to choose from, but the conferences are also as well-known today for their exciting and varied social and sports calendar. If the programme is anything to go by, IBA Auckland 2004 will be no exception.

The conference is being held at The Aotea Centre in the heart of Auckland on October 24-29. It once again boasts a vast array of sessions ranging from antitrust to taxes, and everything in-between. This year the maritime and transport law sessions will be chaired by Henry Li and will cover not only the usual round-up of developments from around the world, but also limitation of liability, liabilities following groundings, corporate governance, ISM Code, and liabilities of directors and managers, as well as the international regulation of cruiseship holidays.

Delegates may also be interested in the Land Transport session, chaired by Derek Luxford, which will look at the challenges facing the legal regimes for intermodal transport.

And when you’re not busy listening to all that, there are countless other activities to take part in. There’s horse racing at the Auckland Racing Club, as well as the IBA Golf Tournament and Sailing Challenge, to name a few.

There are also a number of excursions on offer, including trips to the Bay of Islands, Bay of Plenty, Rotarua, Queenstown, and Christchurch. If this is your first visit to New Zealand, these excursions are highly recommended. After all, why come all this way if you’re not going to take the opportunity to stay at the world-famous Treetops Lodge or go swimming with dolphins?

As usual, there is an early bird fee for bookings - before August 13 (£750 for members, £900 for non-members and £600 for lawyers under 30 years of age) - and a discounted fee before October 15 (£900, £1,050 and £900 respectively). Guests pay only £150 each.

IBA prides itself on organising high-quality conferences with high-quality speakers and high-quality social programmes. To find out more about what’s in store, contact IBA on tel. +44 (0)20 7629 7629, fax. +44 (0)20 7409 0456 or visit www.ibanet.org/auckland.