7th BRICS Legal Forum: first day of panel discussions

Two panel sessions were held on 18 November 2020: «Legal profession and modern challenges» and “Law in the age of the digital transformation of society”.

The first panel session was moderated by the Chairman of the Commission on Legal Framework of Modern Integration Processes of the Russian Federation of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, Rector of the Swiss Academy for International Law, professor Alexey Klishin.

In the environment of growing international tension, building the capacity for legal protection of national interests appears relevant. The prospective areas of cooperation within BRICS include: improvement of the quality of legal education and training of qualified legal personnel that meets the current requirements in terms of professional qualification (competence). Experts of the session discussed the mechanisms for developing human capacity in the legal sphere and creating social elevators for young lawyers.

Among the experts of the session were: Sergei Belov, Dean, Faculty of Law, Saint-Petersburg State University; Han Yinghui, Vice President, Beijing Bar Association, Partner, Chang Tsi & Partners; Pinky Anand, Vice President, Bar Association of India, Senior Advocate; Igor Bartsits, Director of the Institute of Public Administration and Civil Service, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), professor; Caio Augusto Silva dos Santos, President, Sao Paulo Chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association; Marcus Vinicius Furtado Coelho, Chairman of Constitutional Commission, Former President, Brazilian Bar Association, professor; Michele van Eck, Senior Lecturer, Department of Private Law, University of Johannesburg; Benny Makola, Advocate, Johannesburg Society of Advocates, Elena Shapkina, Secretary, Commission of the Association of Lawyers of Russia on Legal Education.

The second panel session was moderated by the Chairman of the Board of the ALRF Vladimir Gruzdev, who noted that the introduction of new technologies leads to changes not only in the social life but also in the legal institutions. The Secretary of the Presidium of the ALRF Igor Manylov in his speech mentioned the digitalization of the building industry. Vice President – Director of Legal Department, SberBank Igor Kondrashov shared the Sberbank’s experience of digital technoligies in law. Professor of the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications Chunhui Wang focused on the construction of data governance legal rules in the age of digital transformation. Vice President, Legal Practice Council of South Africa Anthea Platt noted the features of digital transformation in South Africa.

The session was also joined by the following eminent experts: Bruno Barata, Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Commission, Brazilian Bar Association; Mzukisi Njotini, Vice Dean, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg; S S Naganand, Vice President, Bar Association of India; Dmitry Lipin, Secretary, Commission of the Association of Lawyers of Russia on New Technologies and Legal Framework for Digitalization of Society.