CLA News / Speech: The CLA and the Defence of the Rule of Law by CLA President Steven Thiru
This speech was delivered by Steven Thiru on 22 May 2026 at the International Bar Association’s Mid-Year Leadership Meetings held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 20 to 23 May 2026.
I wish to thank the International Bar Association (‘IBA’) and the IBA’s Bar Issues Commission (‘BIC’) for inviting the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (‘CLA’) to this annual gathering of Bar leaders. I particularly wish to thank the Chair of the BIC, Steven Richman, for giving me the opportunity to address this august gathering.
It has been truly inspiring to hear from the Bar leaders present here today, especially those from Ukraine and Afghanistan, about your sterling efforts to protect the independence of the legal profession and to defend the rule of law. The CLA applauds your tireless endeavours and your unflinching resolve, and we stand with you. We are ready to support and assist you in any way we can in upholding the rule of law.
A Time of Unprecedented Challenges
It is widely recognised today that the global rules-based order, founded on international law, is under existential threat. There is a prevailing climate of arbitrariness, where might is right and core values are discarded for convenience. Fundamental principles of the rule of law are honoured more in the breach than in the observance. The system of checks and balances — which lies at the heart of the separation of powers in democratic governments — is no longer an effective restraint on the abuse of power.
The legal profession has not been spared in this turmoil. Lawyers have been targeted, and lives have been lost. A recent and tragic example is the killing of the Sri Lankan lawyer, Attorney Buddhika Mallawa Arachchi, and his wife on 13 February 2026.
Judges have been removed from office on spurious grounds that mask overreach and interference with judicial independence. The courageous judges in the Maldives — Justices Dr Azmiralda Zahir, Mahaz Ali Zahir and Husnu Al Su’ood — and the former Chief Justice of Ghana, Justice Gertrude A. E. S. Torkornoo, are prominent examples. The former Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, was denied the constitutionally permitted extension of her tenure beyond the mandatory retirement age, after counselling against excessive executive interference in the judicial appointment process.
The conditions are dire, and fear and anxiety are palpable.
We, as Bar leaders, are committed to upholding the rule of law and are custodians of its ideals. We can be a guiding light in these forbidding times. The imperilled legal profession looks to us for encouragement and strength. Indifference and complacency are not options open to us. We must therefore firmly and resolutely advocate for the independence of the legal profession, without fear or favour, and regardless of our own interests.
The CLA’s Commitment to the Rule of Law
The CLA has, for the past four decades, promoted the independence of the legal profession, universal human rights, meaningful access to justice, and constitutionalism throughout the Commonwealth. This is our rule of law mandate. We pursue this mandate whenever the rule of law is violated or ignored. To this end, we actively and consistently express our views, intervene where appropriate, and hold authorities and those in positions of power to account. In discharging this mandate, we also draw guidance, among others, from the Commonwealth Charter, the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Three Branches of Government, and the Goa Declaration on Preserving and Strengthening the Independence of the Judiciary and on Ensuring the Independence of the Legal Profession. We pride ourselves on being the sole voice for the common law legal profession across the Commonwealth, and for the enduring values that are intrinsic to the common law.
As the only international association representing the legal profession across the Commonwealth, we are organised in four hubs: Africa, Americas, Australasia, and Europe.
We have an elected Council representing 56 jurisdictions in the Commonwealth, and an Executive Committee representing the four hubs as well as other members. I serve as President until June 2027, alongside President-Elect Sophie Stanbrook, Treasurer Maria Mbeneka, Vice President (Africa) Julien Kavaruganda, Vice President (Australasia) Hasan Khan, and Vice President (Europe) Mark Stephens CBE.
A new Vice President for the Americas will be appointed shortly to replace Sophie Stanbrook, who served in that role before being elected as the CLA’s first President-Elect in February 2026. We meet biennially at our flagship conference, the Commonwealth Law Conference. The next edition of this Conference will be held in Darwin, Australia, from 9 to 13 May 2027, and I warmly invite all of you to attend.
Strategic Priorities and Charting the Course Ahead
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Chief Executive Officer of a major London-based bank reportedly said that artificial intelligence could replace certain “lower-value human capital” as banks invest in automation and financial capital to reshape their workforce. While artificial intelligence also threatens disruption in the legal profession, we face more nascent threats. Ranging from a high attrition rate among young lawyers to increasing challenges to our core professional values, there is considerable uncertainty about the future of the profession.
When I began my term in February 2025, I emphasised the importance of our institutional history and reflected on our numerous achievements. This was not to relive past glories or to rest on previous successes. Rather, it was to remind ourselves that we have a heavy responsibility to emulate those accomplishments and to continue striving for excellence. I also urged fidelity to the enduring core values of our profession, which are founded upon our common law tradition and experience. We have now embarked on three initiatives intended to reinforce our commitment to those foundational values.
First, we are examining the regulation of the legal profession based on uniform standards of practice and ethical rules. This initiative seeks to address the dysfunction in the regulatory process in many jurisdictions. There are widespread concerns about inordinate delays, a lack of transparency, and unjust outcomes. All of these contribute to the erosion of public trust in the legal profession, which is wholly unacceptable. Without public confidence, our relevance and our ability to serve society are inevitably diminished.
We are currently conducting a survey among our jurisdictional members, which we hope will pave the way for a set of best practices or a model framework that can be adapted to meet local needs and expectations. I understand that the IBA has also undertaken valuable work in this area, which I am confident will be of great value to us.
Next, one of the defining values of the legal profession is our calling to be the voice of the marginalised, the disadvantaged, and the oppressed in our communities. This is a societal responsibility that every lawyer — and every law association — must embrace as fundamental to our vocation.
In many of our jurisdictions, Indigenous Peoples continue to experience discrimination, and their unique cultures and ways of life remain under grave threat. We have launched a dedicated project to look into various issues affecting Indigenous Peoples throughout the Commonwealth, both through a historical lens and in their contemporary context.
It is a mammoth undertaking. Fortunately, we are able to draw upon the considerable expertise and experience available across many Commonwealth jurisdictions. The Commonwealth Secretariat is pursuing a similar, but perhaps more limited, initiative, and we will, wherever practicable, work with them to advance our common objectives. Most importantly, we are determined that this project should produce tangible and practical outcomes that address, as far as possible, the many issues affecting Indigenous Peoples across the Commonwealth.
Finally, the independence of the legal profession is embedded into the institutional DNA of the CLA, and is our primary constitutional mission. Throughout our history, we have frequently spoken out in support of lawyers and their professional associations whenever attempts have been made to curtail or undermine the independence of the Bar.
In my President’s message on 20 March 2025, I highlighted some of the cardinal principles underpinning the independence of the legal profession, and I pointed out why fidelity to those principles is indispensable to the rule of law. The rule of law thrives only where the independence of the legal profession is safeguarded. Conversely, in any nation that professes adherence to the rule of law, that commitment is inevitably weakened when the independence of the legal profession is compromised.
Strengthening International Protection for the Legal Profession
This brings me to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer (CETS No. 226) — commonly referred to as the Luxembourg Convention — which opened for signature in Luxembourg on 13 May 2025, and with which many of you will already be familiar.
The Convention is indubitably the international gold standard for the independence of the legal profession, bringing together and reinforcing existing United Nations norms in a comprehensive treaty framework. Although it originated in Europe, it is open to accession by all countries after it enters into force, thus broadening the scope of its protections beyond Europe. For those that become States Parties, it creates binding obligations to protect the independence of the legal profession.
The CLA issued a declaration on 19 January 2026 to endorse and support the Convention. We are also working with our institutional members to promote the Convention, and to encourage all Commonwealth nations to accede to it. At the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting held in Nadi, Fiji, from 9 to 12 February 2026, I spoke about the importance of the Convention — not as a measure that serves the interests of lawyers alone, but rather as a manifestation of respect for the rule of law itself. I likewise commend the Convention to you, and I urge you to also support it and advocate its adoption by your respective bar associations and law societies.
These are among the raft of initiatives that the CLA is pursuing.
Thank you.
Steven Thiru
President
Commonwealth Lawyers Association
22 May 2026 (updated on 30 June 2026)
Steven Thiru records his appreciation to Chin Oy Sim and Jaishanker Sadananda for their assistance in updating this speech.
