CLA News / Speech by Steven Thiru, President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association at the Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and the Declaration on the Luxembourg Convention between the Union Internationale des Avocats and Commonwealth Lawyers Association Osaka, Japan 27 March 2026
President Fernando Hernández Gómez, Immediate Past President Carlo Mastellone, and distinguished members of the Executive Committee of the Union Internationale des Avocats (‘UIA’),
Good afternoon and warm greetings on behalf of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (‘CLA’).
My name is Steven Thiru, and I am the President of the CLA. I am pleased to be here in Osaka today for the signing of two very important documents for both our organisations, which will propel mutual collaboration in the pursuit of our shared objectives.
I wish to thank Immediate Past President Carlo Mastellone for initiating the proposal for this Memorandum of Understanding when we met in Hanoi on the sidelines of the 38th LAWASIA Conference in October 2025. His foresight has been the catalyst for this historic moment.
I also wish to thank President Fernando Hernández Gómez for accepting my proposal that our collaboration should specifically include the joint promotion by the UIA and the CLA of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer — also known as the Luxembourg Convention — adopted in March 2025.
I am grateful for the warm reception extended by the UIA Executive Committee today, including the invitation to observe your meeting with the Osaka Bar Association and to attend the luncheon reception. It was a pleasure to meet members of the Executive Committee and to highlight the CLA’s activities, and to hear from you about your ongoing projects.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The UIA and the CLA are indefatigable advocates for the rule of law, human rights, and access to justice. We have been steadfastly at the forefront of addressing challenges to the principles and values that underpin these ideals. Our Memorandum of Understanding is therefore timely, serving as a springboard for advancing our joint advocacy.
It has been observed that “[t]he independence of the Bar from the state in all its pervasive manifestations is one of the hallmarks of a free society.”
The independence of the Bar lies at the very heart of our respective mandates. We have a rich heritage of protecting this foundational principle, which is integral to the promotion of the rule of law. It is a matter of grave concern that there has recently been an increase in attacks on lawyers in the discharge of their professional duties, as well as on law organisations for upholding the rule of law.
It is therefore apposite that we have decided to jointly sign the UIA–CLA Declaration on the Luxembourg Convention to promote this landmark international treaty. The Convention is of immense utility in confronting threats to lawyers and law organisations and will undoubtedly augment our efforts to repel threats to the independence of the Bar.
On a personal note, as a former President of the Malaysian Bar (2015–2017), I am grateful to international law organisations — such as the UIA, CLA, The Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (‘LAWASIA’), and the International Bar Association (‘IBA’) — for standing with the Malaysian Bar in 2016 when its independence was undermined and threatened.
Amid the attack on its independence, the UIA conferred its inaugural UIA/LexisNexis Rule of Law Award to the Malaysian Bar, recognising its resolute and unfailing commitment to the defence and promotion of human rights and the rule of law. That recognition was undoubtedly pivotal in preserving the independence of the Malaysian Bar.
Steven Thiru, President of the Malaysian Bar (2015–2017), accepting the inaugural UIA/LexisNexis Rule of Law Award on behalf of the Malaysian Bar, on 28 October 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.
I am therefore very aware of what the UIA is well-placed to achieve as an international organisation that defends the rule of law. The CLA is indeed honoured to enter this Memorandum of Understanding and to sign this Declaration with the UIA today.
Thank you.
Steven Thiru
President
Commonwealth Lawyers Association
27 March 2026 (updated on 20 April 2026)
CLA President Steven Thiru and UIA President Fernando Hernández Gómez.
