Annual Conference 2025

Lawyering in a Phase of Upheaval

The 2025 Annual Conference of the European Circuit of the Bar will take place in The Hague, a city at the heart of global justice and international law from the evening of Thursday 18 September to the afternoon of Saturday 20 September 2025.  The conference will be held at the headquarters of the Asser Institute, international law foundation, which is conveniently located in the centre of The Hague, full of bustling shops and elegant restaurants, and close to the more chilled-out seaside and port area.

The conference might be a last chance to catch some beach time before autumn, against a backdrop of yet more grey clouds gathering on the political horizon.  The city is easy to get to via Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and has fantastic rail links connected to the Eurostar. Upon arrival there is a cheap and sophisticated tram system, although those in the know hop on and off locally hired bikes.

We have the huge privilege of being able to hold our evening drinks reception at the Residence of the Czech Ambassador to The Netherlands in The Hague on Thursday 18 September, which will provide an enjoyable and elegant start to the conference.

On Friday 19 September, there will be an optional guided ICC visit. We are very lucky to have secured the input of British ICC Judge Joanna Korner CMG KC who has agreed to provide a welcome address during our “stakeholder” visit to the ICC. The visit will be at 09:00 sharp on the Friday 19 September, limited to 40 places and there will be heavy security. Places will be allocated on a “first come, first served” basis and only those with their passport or EU identity card will get in.

The main part of the conference will start at lunchtime on Friday 19 September.

THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
18:00-20:00      Drinks Reception at the Residence of the Czech Ambassador to The Netherlands

FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
9:00                  ICC Visit (Oude Waalsdorperweg 10)
12:00-13:00      Light lunch the Asser Instituut
13:00-13:30      Welcome & Keynote Address
13:30-14:30      AI Panel
14:30-15:30      Family Panel
15:30-15:45      Break
15:45-17:00      Bar Leaders Panel
18:30                Reception hosted by the Netherlands Bar at Pulchri Studio (Lange Voorhout 15)
20:00               Gala Dinner at Botanica Restaurant at voco the Hague by IHG (Kneuterdijk 8)

SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
10:00-11:15       Criminal Panel
11:15-12:15        Trade Panel
12:15-12:45       Coffee & sandwiches
12:45-13:45      Climate Panel
13:45-14:45      Migration Panel

FOR A FULL DOWNLOADBALE PROGRAMME PLEASE SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE 

As for conference content, after a welcome by Machiko Kanetake, Academic Director of the Asser Institute and Professor of International Law & Security Governance, University of Amsterdam, we are delighted that Judge Kimberly Prost (Judge of the International Criminal Court and Canadian Jurist) will give the conference keynote address. The ICC is increasingly in the news and, so we are very lucky to have secured the input of not one, but two, ICC judges during our conference.

The panel sessions mirror how our legal work runs in parallel with current events.

Real-world deployment of AI: what use will it be put to and how will it be regulated. Speakers include Emily Gillett Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Law & AI (LawAI), focusing on the regulation and governance of general-purpose and frontier AI under the EU AI Act. Before joining LawAI, Emily gained experience in the AI policy field, leading the European AI Governance team at a non-profit organisation dedicated to aligning AI through better governance. Prior to embarking on a career in AI, Emily was an English barrister (Lincoln’s Inn) and Hong Kong solicitor, specialising in high-profile cross-border commercial fraud and asset recovery litigation; Dee Masters Barrister at Cloisters Chambers London and a leading practitioner in the technology space in relation to the interplay between artificial intelligence, equality law, human rights and data protection. She works with private companies, NGOs, trade unions, regulators and individuals Dee’s work includes an AI Bill in 2024 focused exclusively on the employment relationship for the TUC and in 2021, Dee was commissioned by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in relation to the effects of AI, ML and ADM for persons with disabilities; Dr. Thomas Seeber, Lawyer, Stadler Völkel Lawyers, Vienna, and works extensively in the AI space including the classification of software as AI, related data protection issues and the development of AI use cases in the banking sector; Professor Dr Machiko Kanetake Academic Director and the Chair of the Executive Board of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and Professor of International Law and Security Governance at the University of Amsterdam. Panel to be moderated by Leila Ghahhary English & Canadian Barrister, Lincoln House Chambers Manchester and Ghahhary Thomas, Toronto.

Family: A session on The Hague Convention and international child abduction. Speakers include Barbara Howard President Elect American Bar Association, Michael Gration KC Barrister, 4PB, Amy Rowe Partner, Hunters Law LLP; Karen O’Leary Senior Partner, Head of Family & Child Law, Caldwell & Robinson and Vanessa Ndoumbe Nkotto Partner, OratioFortis Avocates, Geneva. Chaired by Amy Scollan Partner, Hunters Law LLP.

Bar Leaders Panel: This will be a lively session as per the conference theme “Lawyering in a Phase of Upheaval”. The range of problems facing lawyers and the legal profession are immense. Many jurisdictions are dealing with the same problems from different angles. The leaders will address topics as diverse as: Being required to work electronically whilst being forbidden from taking laptops or digital devices into prison; the massive backlog of criminal cases and challenges to the criminal justice system in the UK; attacks on lawyers and judges, including sanctions against the ICC; policies to support lawyers responding to the challenges of AI; lawyer / client privilege and duty of confidentially potentially under attack by the proposed new “chat control” EU Regulation; the challenges caused by limited legal aid for civil cases in Ireland; and challenges to the Rule of Law and the basic tenants of democracy in the USA. With Bar leaders including Kirsty Brimelow KC Vice Chair of The Bar Council of England and Wales, Robert Němec President of The Czech Bar, Séamus Clarke SC, BCL Vice-Chair of the Council of the Bar of Ireland, Sanne Van Oers President of The Netherlands Bar, Barbara Howard President Elect American Bar Association and Stéphanie Encinas Member of the Board, Paris Bar. Chaired by Abigail Holt Garden Court Chambers & Leader of the European Circuit of The Bar.

International Criminal Law: In light of unwarranted US Sanctions on the ICC, what scope for national courts and other mechanisms to step up in the fight against impunity for atrocity crimes? Ward Ferdinandusse the Deputy Specialist Prosecutor of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Natia Navrouzou Executive Director of Yazda – a Yazidi-focused global NGO addressing justice and accountability in relation to the ISIS genocide against the Yazidi community in Iraq and Martin Hackett Counter-terrorism Expert, UN Office of Counterterrorism, UNOCT, International Counsel with the EU Project Pravo-Justice & Axiom International Ltd, UK barrister Lincoln House Chambers; Luke Vidal Partner at SLV Partners & Askolds, Paris Bar Advocate in the Lafarge Syria / ISIS criminal case. The panel to be moderated by James Onalaja Barrister, 187 Chambers.

Trade Law in Interesting Times: Trump 2.0 and the war on trade – is it a tumultuous time ahead, or a new dawn of opportunities for the EU? Some argue that the current zeitgeist is not only the end of the Washington Consensus but the beginning of the end for the rule of law in international trade. But the shift we are witnessing in global power comes at a time of significant developments in the markets for services, and with a radically changing technological landscape on the horizon. In this conjuncture many believe there is a chance for the EU to not only come into its own but forge a new path in trade in services. Chaired by Mr Justice David Barniville President of the High Court of Ireland, an ex officio member of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, a former Judge of the Court of Appeal, and formerly Judge in Charge of the Strategic Infrastructure List. Before becoming a judge, as a barrister in practice he often appeared before the CJEU. Professor Alastair Sutton Barrister at Brick Court Chambers, will talk on ‘Trump’s tariffs – turning trade law upside down? Can the WTO survive?’. Pascal Kerneis MD of the European Services Forum, will talk on ‘Development in trade in services and opportunities for EU-UK-US relations’; and George Peretz KC Barrister Monckton Chambers, will discusses ‘trade law and policy in the Brexit re-set, and new opportunities for UK/EU trade in services’.

Climate: The panel will be discussing the role of and limits on litigation as a mechanism to enforce climate obligations, including consideration of issues such as: the boundaries of judicial power and the extent to which this is a legal question rather than a political one; the different fronts from which challenges may come (public bodies, environmental groups, commercial actors resisting restraints, commercial actors such as windfarm developers seeking to enforce environmental imperatives set out in legislation, etc.); the extent to which downstream effects of authorised activities have to be taken into account and the limitations on a court’s ability to take future uncertainties into account; and specific developments in different jurisdictions.  Chaired by Dame Eleanor Sharpston KC Member of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee and Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh, with Acland Bryant Garden Court Chambers and Hannah Godfrey Bar of Ireland.

Legal plumbing: valves, taps & the pipework of il/legal migration: The panel will look at some of the drivers and consequences of “illegal”, or irregular migration. This will touch on those who arrive in Europe with nothing, but who are still rich in rights; a polemic driving much of the unstable domestic politics in Europe. Discussions will include the relevance of Article 8 in the context of visa applications and how States manage this qualified right. The panel will also look at issues touching upon professional and business migration including with “third countries” such as Canada. Finally, the panel will consider the economic drivers motivating migration and appraise why migration is so difficult for States to control, despite the “tough” rhetoric and commentary reported in certain media outlets. With Adrian Berry KC Garden Court Chambers, London, Nikki Vreede Everaert Advocaten, Amsterdam, Avv Marco Bona Studio Legale Bona Oliva & Associati, Turin, Lisanne Chamberland-Pulin French & Canadian lawyer, Hope Avocats, Bordeaux. Panel to be moderated by HHJ Richard Pearce Judge in charge of the Circuit Commercial Court and Business and Property Courts, Manchester.

After the working part of the conference on Friday 19 September, there will be a drinks reception kindly hosted by The Netherlands Bar at Pulchri Studio (Lange Voorhout 15) before the gala dinner being held in the Botanica Restaurant at the Voco Hotel in the centre of The Hague – great networking opportunities to meet new colleagues from across Europe and beyond.

The working part of the conference will continue on Saturday and is expected to conclude in the early afternoon.

The conference fee includes:

✓ Access to the working sessions of the conference
✓ Welcome drinks reception at the Residence of the Czech Ambassador
✓ Drinks reception hosted by the Netherlands Bar at Pulchri Studio
✓ Guided visit to the ICC (fully booked)
✓ Gala Dinner at the Botanica Restaurant at the Voco Hotel
✓ Refreshments provided throughout the conference

We have a special 2 night room rate at the Voco (Kneuterdijk 8, 2514 EN, The Hague)
Standard Atrium Queen Room @ €170 per night
Standard Queen/Twin Room @ €180 per night
Please click here to book

Please note you will need your passport or ID card for the ICC visit. 

Please answer all questions asked during the booking process.

PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE NO MORE SLOTS AVAILABLE FOR THE ICC VISIT – PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST. 

Please see below for a downloadable timetable of events, hotel information, maps & speaker biographies.