IBA Durban sweeps the board

IF there were awards for conference organising, the International Bar Association (IBA) would need a bigger mantelpiece. Not only was its most recent event, IBA Durban, slickly organised, the venue was terrific, the food excellent, the speaker programme well-planned and the social events breathtaking. Ah, but they do run them every year, you may say. But, don't forget, it is a different city, different country and different venue each year, which makes them all the more impressive.

At the 2002 conference, which took place in October, as many as 3,500 delegates crammed into Durban for the week-long event. Of these, more than 400 were from the maritime industry. The programme for Committee A (maritime and transport law) spanned the entire week, including a day's sightseeing for those delegates who wanted to get out of Durban, which didn't have much to offer, into the surrounding countryside, which did.

The programme began with what was probably the highlight of the week. UK-based animation specialist, Elucidate3D, joined forces with Christian Breitzke, who chaired the opening session, and Ignacio de Ros to develop a computer simulation of an aircraft crashing into a passenger ferry and cargo ship in the port of Durban. This became the focus for the morning's speakers, who gave presentations on how the various liabilities would be dealt with in their own jurisdictions.

Other topics tackled during the week included the legal problems in connection with bills of lading, waybills and liner booking notes, the enforcement and ranking of mortgages and maritime liens, and shipping and the environment. Speakers included Derek Hodgson of Clyde & Co, Erling Hjort of Wikborg Rein, Thatcher Stone of Alston & Bird, Dieter Ambrust of Lebuhn & Puchta, and Andriy Koston of Pravo Law Office.

The Durban conference also marked the appointment of the new chairman and vice-chairman of Committee A - Henry Li, of China-based Henry & Co, and Ayhan Oran, of Turkey-based Ertan & Oran, respectively. Henry and Ayhan will no doubt already be busy conjuring up topics and speakers for the IBA Business Law conference to be held in San Francisco in September, 2003.