RESOLUTIONS
Adopted by
The XLIst CONFERENCE OF THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
June 27 - July 2, 2005 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Resolution 1

Whereas: There is an urgent necessity that lawyers effectively participate in environmental preservation and recovery,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION:

Promotes and sponsors lawyer participation, particularly of corporate lawyers, in the important social task of protecting the environment.  (1)


Resolution 2

Whereas: An attorney’s professional reputation can be affected by the lack of strict compliance with the ethical rules applicable to professional lawyers;

Whereas: With increasing frequency complaints are filed against attorneys for breach of moral standards that professionals should uphold; and

Whereas: Bar associations and their disciplinary or ethics panels should protect the reputation of the legal profession.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION:

Encourages attorneys and the ethics or disciplinary panels of bar associations to exercise a greater and stricter control over their members. (2)


Resolution 3

Whereas: The Committee on Intellectual and Industrial Property Law of the Inter-American Bar Association, in its June 29, 2005 session, debated the observations and comments raised by the Inter-American Institute of Copyright (IIC) to the Sub-Committee of Political Regime and Institutional Affairs of the National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, regarding public consultation over the “Draft Law of Copyright and Related Rights” and

Whereas: That this Draft, as pointed out by the observations raised by the Inter-American Institute of Copyright, which were debated and in relation to which there was unanimous consensus, contains several rules that have caused considerable concern in the international community, such as the elimination of the principle of the automatic protection stipulated in the Berne Convention and in the TRIPS agreement of the World Trade Organization, and also the elimination of the principle of non-attachment already stipulated in the Andean Community Decision 351 on Common Provisions on Copyright and Neighboring Rights dated December 17, 2003,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION:

Recommends respectfully that the authorities of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela give proper consideration to, and admit the observations raised by the Inter-American Copyright Institute for preserving copyrights as a human right with the purpose that the juridical order of the region be kept in accordance with the international treaties related to this matter. (3)


Resolution 4

Whereas: Mandatory bar licensing permits the assurance of legitimacy and in many cases the quality of law practice;

Whereas: Bar licensing allows regulating professional ethics and punishment of those who violate ethical rules;

Whereas: The benefits of bar licensing in those countries where it is mandatory are believed to be an asset to society due to the guarantees that such licensing offers, resulting in professional activity subject to the law and to the ethical principles;

Whereas: Some countries are trying to abolish mandatory licensing without a valid a basis, and

Whereas: The bar associations of countries that lack mandatory licensing are trying to establish such systems,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION:

1.  Declares that mandatory licensing of the practice of law has been shown to be beneficial for society at large since it promotes legality and high ethical standards in the practice of law, and strengthens the ability of lawyers to defend and to protect people’s fundamental rights.
2.  Recommends that the governments of countries considering its abolition refrain from doing so because it would clearly be detrimental to society.
3.   Supports the claims and efforts of bar associations in those countries lacking mandatory bar licensing to establish such a system in the near future. (4)

Resolution 5

Whereas: The Inter-American Bar Association is a lawyers’ association that is strictly apolitical, professional and academic;

Whereas: The Inter-American Bar Association is a permanent forum that has the inherent responsibility to promote and support all efforts to strengthen the rule of law and the proper administration of justice in all countries of the Americas, as well as to uphold the honor of the legal profession;

Whereas: Great concern has arisen from complaints put forward jointly by the President of the Consejo Superior Permanente de la Federacion de Colegios de Abogados de Venezuela and the Venezuelan Chapter of the Inter-American Bar Association on June 28, 2005 at the XLIst Conference of the Inter-American Bar Association held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  These grievances relate to the charges raised against some Venezuelan lawyers because they expressed their legal opinions as required in their capacity as lawyers; and

Whereas: This Association is deeply concerned by the declaration made by the Venezuelan Chapter and the Consejo Superior Permanente de la Federacion de Colegios de Abogados de Venezuela about the investigation of the referenced charges, which may lead to the violation of the right of presumed innocence and due process of law,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION:

1.   Objects categorically to institutional mechanisms that curtail the freedom of practice of lawyers and that damage the honor of the legal profession as well as any action agencies of criminal investigation that may result in the violation of the right of presumed innocence and due process of law.

2.   Enables the President of the Inter-American Bar Association to appoint one or more IABA Council Members to travel to Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to act as observers in order to verify in situ the validity of the claims made, and to inform the bodies of the Inter-American Bar Association thereof the results of their endeavors.

3.   Requests that the appointed observers, within 30 days of fulfilling their mission, submit a report to the Inter-American Bar Association’s General Secretariat and authorizes the Secretariat to circulate that report to whomever it may deem necessary and proper to defend the human rights, and the freedom and dignity of the legal profession.

4.   To these ends, urges the authorities of the Federation of Bar Associations of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Chapter of the Inter-American Bar Association to provide their collaboration to the appointed Council Members in the fulfillment of their mission. (5)

Note: The original versions of all these resolutions were presented in Spanish
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(1) Proposed by Committee XI Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
(2) Proposed jointly by Committee XIII The Practice of Law and the Young Lawyers and Law Students Section
(3) Proposed by Committee XV Intellectual and Industrial Property Law
(4) Proposed by the Institutional Forum on the Legal Profession
(5) Proposed by the Venezuelan Chapter of IABA Individual Members