Global IT lawyers meet in Bangkok
Members of ILAWS joined lawyers, academics and representatives from government and industry from every continent to discuss the latest developments in IT law at the leading legal conference series organised by the International Association of IT Lawyers (IAITL) in Bangkok.
The annual IAITL conference series covers legal, security and privacy issues in IT (LSPI), as well as separate streams in international trade and public/private law. The whole event is organised by IAITL President and ILAWS Visiting Professor Sylvia Kierkegaard supported by ILAWS Director Professor Steve Saxby. Among the highlights of the 2013 series was a workshop on New Developments in Intellectual Property Rights and Trade, held at the invitation of the Chief Justice Pavana Sugandhavanij of the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court and attended by judges of the court and other high ranking government officials. Day one of the conference was hosted on the premises of the largest international law firm in Thailand – Tilleke and Gibbins and days two and three on the two Bangkok campuses of Assumption University – ranked in the top 20 of Thai higher education institutions.
“Our workshops and seminars covered many important developments in this fast-moving field of law such as digital identity and intellectual property,” explains Steve. “Delegates from around the world, many in senior positions, shared their experience in stimulating discussions and debate.”
Conference papers have been published in a 920 page book and copies were given to everyone taking part on arrival. Selected papers will also be developed and published in the major journals affiliated to the conference – top ranked Computer Law and Security Review (Elsevier), The International Journal of Private Law (InderScience); The International Journal of Public Law and Policy (InderScience) and IAITL’s peer reviewed and highly regarded online publication – Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology.
The 8th ‘CLSR Best Paper Awards' sponsored by Elsevier for the LSPI stream of the conference were awarded to the winner Dr Uri Volovelsky of Striks Law School, College of Management, Israel for his paper on ‘unnamed aerial vehicles and privacy implications' and runner-up, Associate Professor Kah Leng Ter from the National University of Singapore for her paper on ‘e-Discovery and electronically stored information in commercial litigation'. Next year's conference is likely to be back in Europe in either Berlin or Rome.