International Bar Association: Global Insight podcasts

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election that saw Donald Trump become President offered shocking revelations. As US citizens prepare to vote in the presidential election, with Trump once more a presidential candidate, Global Insight assesses the Mueller investigation, its report and the bearing on the rule of law in the US, through to today.

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Following a divided vote by its member states in October, the EU can now impose extra tariffs of up to 35.3% on electric vehicles – EVs – imported from China for the next five years.

The vote follows moves by the US Biden administration earlier in 2024 to raise tariffs on Chinese computer chips, EVs, clean energy technologies and metals imported from China – part of an ongoing series of measures from the countries in recent years in the US-China trade war.

In mid-2024, the UK enacted a law quashing the convictions of hundreds of sub-postmasters after many were wrongly prosecuted for theft and fraud due to accounting errors in the software – Horizon – used by their employer, the Post Office. This scandal, alongside other recent controversies, has placed the spotlight on IT outsourcing projects and the potential pitfalls, both for buyers and for the public.

More than 60 national elections have already taken place or will do so during 2024 – almost a third of them in Asia. Given its significant presence on the world stage, India’s election has been one of the most closely watched. The country’s lengthy voting process draws to a conclusion in early June in what’s expected to be a victory for incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. But questions remain over the implications for human rights and the rule of law in a country of over 1.4 billion people. This podcast addresses the situation in India, Pakistan and Asia more broadly.

The Council of Europe recently voted to use seized Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction. The US House of Representatives has approved billions of dollars in aid to help Ukraine combat Russia's invasion, also authorising the US government to take frozen Russian central bank assets held in US jurisdictions to help rebuild the country. In April, Ukraine’s Register of Damage started taking claims relating to residential property – a first step in the international compensation mechanism, a framework established in response to recommendations by the UN.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which sits at the southern tip of the Red Sea, has become an increasingly dangerous chokepoint off the coast of Yemen, with the rebel Houthi group targeting merchant and other ships there linked to Israel, the US or UK for attack or seizure. The group’s motive is ‘retribution’ for Israel’s war in Gaza. The US and the UK and others have taken military action in response to the Houthi attacks, which have had a significant impact on global trade, as well as on delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen. Escalating conflict in the Middle East looks set to have continued impact on the Red Sea situation.

Following Vladimir Putin’s election victory for a fifth term – in a vote criticised by many international observers – Global Insight considers the significance of the result, the state of rule of law in Russia, and the major challenges now facing the international community and the Kremlin.

Despite being stretched financially, the ICC is not shying away from tackling the crimes perpetrated during conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and elsewhere. In this interview with IBA Director of Content James Lewis, Karim Khan KC speaks passionately about the significance of issuing an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin and the importance of moving at the speed of relevance.

The death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on 19 February shocked the world. 

Global leaders were quick to condemn the Russian authorities for their role in the 47-year-old’s sudden and unexplained death. In the days that followed, hundreds of Russian civilians were arrested for laying tributes to the Kremlin critic. 

Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, spoke to Global Insight recently about what life was like behind bars for members of the opposition, and why it’s so important for Russian citizens to keep challenging the regime both from inside and outside Russia. 

Tech giants wield significant power in our daily lives. The scale at which they operate and their innovative use of technology can lead, however, to challenges in keeping their power in check on a number of fronts. This podcast assesses the ways in which governments, regulators, lawyers and the courts – as well as the tech companies themselves through self-regulation – are currently attempting to do this.