The American Branch co-sponsored a panel on Emerging Issues in Legal Practice: Ethics, Representation and International Dispute Resolution with the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the U.N. and the Armenian Bar Association on October 26, 2022 at U.N. Headquarters in New York.

In the age of social media and disinformation, the shifting standards with respect to decisions about clients, cases, and strategies that lawyers can select necessitate revisiting the voluntary and binding ethical standards governing the conduct of advocates before international courts and tribunals. Against the backdrop of the growing number and complexities of inter-State disputes, it is important to take a look at the expanding body of practice in international law.

The event discussed the evolution of the area of legal practice related to ethical considerations in representation. Discussions focused on the role played by the practitioners in developing, implementing, and enforcing ethical standards, as well as the role of the international community in supporting such processes. Drawing on examples from both commercial and inter-State proceedings, the panelists aimed to identify recommendations and suggestions as to how ethical standards governing the conduct of advocates representing State clients before international courts and tribunals can be improved and further implemented.

Moderated by Grant Hanessian, panelists included Meriam Al-Rashid, Alex Bedrosyan, Chiara Giorgetti, and Arman Sarvarian. Welcome remarks were delivered by H.E. Mher Margaryan, Ambassador Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations.

A recording of the discussion is available here: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1l/k1lpsdq3az