LONDON REPORT

INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION (IBA) 1-2 MARCH 2001, REPORT ABOUT WORLD WOMAN LAWYERS CONFERENCE

Att. Samiye EYUBOĞLU Att. Emine ERGÜL
Att. Burçe DÜNDAR ARI

INTRODUCTION:

We, Att. Samiye Eyuboğlu, Att. Emine Ergül members of administrative board of Ankara Bar and Att. Burçe Dündar Arı, Vice President of Ankara Bar Foreign Relations Comittee are charged to attend to the World Women Lawyers Conference which is arranged first time by International Bar Association (IBA) of which Ankara Bar is a corporate member. We thank to Presidency of Ankara Bar, for giving us an opportunity to be helpful for colleagues registered to our bar by approving us for this duty.

ABOUT IBA :

Firstly, by making a general explanation abou IBA, we would like to give information about the purpose of foundation and activities of this organization. IBA, which was founded in 1947 is the world’s biggest international organization of bars, law organizations and individual lawyers. It has members of more than 16.000 individual lawyers and 178 bar and law organizations representing more than 2.5 million lawyers in 183 countries.

The purpose of IBA is composing a forum which provides the lawyers communication and exchange of ideas with each other. There are expert comittees in 57 seperate areas of law within IBA to answer the needs of individual lawyers. At the same time, there are various forums and work groups focused on the regions like Asia Pacific or specific headings like Capital Markets. Each comittee is organized by being devided to three sections of headings which are, business law, legal practice and energy and natural resources law

Basic purposes and targets of IBA is, providing the exchange of information between the worldwide law organizations, supporting the independence of adjudication and the right of the lawyers to perform their jobs without a intervention, supporting the human rights of worldwide lawyers by The Institute of Human Rights within its constitution.

ABOUT IBA WORLD WOMAN LAWYERS CONFERENCE :

The purpose of the conference is exploring and learning the different subjects that women legists meet during performing the profession of law. 9 lawyers from Turkey attended to the conference to which more than 1000 legists has attended.
The sessions that we have attended in the conference program lasted two days, as eveluated by lining up according to their dates and time of sessions are as follows:

1st DAY
MARCH 1, 2001, Thursday

The session titled “Woman Rights as Human Right” began with the welcome speech of Dianna Kempe, the president of IBA. After this, Michael Napier the president of the Bar Association of United Kingdom and Wales made the opening speech. In this panel discussion the women who could associate succesfully the work they perform and public service during their career, in order to create a difference in supporting woman rights, have taken place as speaker or disputant.

The speakers talked about the positions that they has come by hard contests and gave explanatory examples about the things that have been lived during this period.
First speaker, Cheryl Ann Carlous member of South Africa High Commission began her speech by talking about the problems met in the past and today, by the ones which are not from white race. In her speech she drawed attention that, until 1944, the birth records of the ones who are not from white race, has been recorded as “not white” and again until this dated they even did not have voting right, she stated that the journey going to freedom in her country has begun on 27 April 1994. As stating that a movement for the liberation and movement of the women has been lived by Nelson Mandela who had come out of prison in 1990, she informed us about this period shortly. She stated that Mandela has supporters from every vision and that he has placed two women in his delegation and by being one of these women as herself, for the first time a woman who is not white has a right to speak in the parliament.

Elsie Leung Justice Announcer of Hong Kong told that, in her country in the past married woman had limited rights, were depentdent to their husbands economically and they had to marry one time in their lives. She stated that from 1950, the period bringing equal rights for woman has taken 20 years and in tihs period in 1961 a code of law format has been composed. She told that, till 1991 the provisions brought by United Kingdom has been applied, on 8 June 1991 they have accepted to execute the law norms forbidding the sex discrimination at the local courts, in 1997 the provisions concerning the sex discrimination had been arrnaged in the ground law which is the base law. As a final development, she completed her speech by notifying that, in United Nations Preliminary Report it is stated that the execution of laws about abating the discrimination is satisfactory.

Dr. Lynda Clark, Scottish member of parliament, in her speech, by sampling her career she indicated the situation in her country. She stated that, in the first years she began the career, joining to Scotland Bar was not a convenient place to have a career, for this reason she had an experince in pressure groups performing public service. However, after thinking that she had an education of law for 7 years, she had attempt to work as a lawyer. In the first instance when she had met the rule that women must dress conservatively in working life, she has thought that this rıle was a discrimination of sex. Clark stated that she is the 14th woman lawyer applying to be called to the Scotland Bar, in 1989 she had been the first lawyer called to the bar and on the dated that she has joined the bar, there had been no woman performing as a lwayer. Dr. Lynda Clark, as stating that she was the first woman parliament member elected from Scotland, in the parliament of United Kingdom as from 1997 there are less than rate of woman parliament member, but at the present of the parliament consists of woman parliament members, besides Ministry of Woman has been founded and sub comittees handling the needs of woman has been constituted within the ministry

Pusha Gautam Bhusal from the Nepal Organization of Law couldn’t attend to the meeting.

After the presentations of panelists, various questions has been pointed and discussed by the listeners.

In the afternoon we have attended the session subjected “Global Economy and Global Judging” which was one of the sessions with various titles.

In the first part of conference, the subjects of global economy has been examined. This session examined the efforts to provide the national and international law protectors to change the law and tend towards the internet.

As we know, electronic commerce offers to develop new working methods can be protected by intellectual property rights. These intellectual property rights can be used to exclude the competitors from the market. At the same time, global trade on internet causes new risks in, confusion, unfair competition, cybersquatting and violation of intellectual property rights. The domain name system “First coming will be serviced firstly” challenges the existing trademark law. Internet creats a matchless marketing tool. However, this situation can disturb the rights of confidentiality like data protection.

Electronic agreements needs new rules concerning the configurations of agreement, protection of consumer and confidentiality. The need of making the procedures safely, leaded to ease the exporting limitations of cold war and new ındustries to be developed. This session subjected the struggles of law protectors and lawyers growing out of this electronic uncertainty:

Att. Vivien Chan attending form Hong Kong as a speaker explained how law has ordered the global electronic economy in Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China and Singapore. According to this; The rules related to basic electronic commerce like digital sign, data protection and cybersquatting are arranged by national laws that are peculiar to specific judging area. National and cross-border laws couldn’t be harmonized as monotonously. At the same time, these laws exist in a wide and international frame like The Model Law in Electronic Commerce which is embraced by The International Commerce Law Comittee of United Nations. This Model Law, arranges the basic e-commerce subjects by undertaking the conditions of responsibilities and legality in e-proceedings. This Model Law is embraced in countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, India.

Vivien Chan made seperate explanations about the subjects of configuration and security of online agreements, cybersquatting, data protection and confidentiality, new methods of working, the arrangements brought by Model Law in the subjects of copyright and e-commerce and arrangements made in Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China and Singapore in the last years for this subject, associations founded and the problems has been met in practise.

Later Att. Alessandra Perrazzelli took the floor and explained shortly the arrangements has been brought in European Union and United States of America about connecting to internet and prevention of violations in this environment and talked about the telecommunicaiton subjects key to the establishment of e-commerce. As stating that there are studies about bringing away the legal exclusive rights on telecom network and services, arrangements encouraging to tend to electronic commerce services, however entry of local area network market is still closed to competition, he drew up the technical choices (ex; Wireless connection, satellite….) for entry of local area network. He designated that both in European Union and United States of America, consumers are faced with systems which are processing slowly and expensive and stated the necessity of increasing the options of connection and speeding up these connections. He evaluated, the opportunities of being presented of the area of phoning through internet which is developing ans widening its quality to needs of arrangement about public phone system besides the applications related to wholesale price and retail sales price rates for connecting internet.

The speaker as mentioning the crime of listening secretly by a cable, explained that an EU Convention concerning the cyber crimes is in a phase of preparation.

Att. Rebecca Anne Davies from Austraila, explained that in her country although the rate of using internet increases rapidly, there is no increasing in the rate of buying selling for private use and she involved this to the concern about security. She explained that, however, there are higher rates of loss growing out of security in sales agreements arranged out of this area, than the rate of sales made through internet. She explained that, the concern of picking up the private information belonging to the consumer unconsciously is question, also in Australia the laws concerning the protection of consumers are applied as exactly same on the agreements made through internet by sampling two cases. In the subject of censorship, she stated that, the grown ups have the opportunity to see and read everything they wish to and but children must be protected from the things that can be harmful for them, everyone must be protected from the display of the things that they do not want to. She explained the samples of law cases and legal arrangements about these.

Att. Anette Shild from Belgium, explained the EU Arrangements shortly. She drew up the instructions and arrangements by the titles stated below and made explanations concerning these titles;
– Protection of the consumer on long distance agreements in internal market in e-commerce.
– Conditional Entry Services
– Copyrights
– Value Added Tax (VAT) on the services provided electronically
( not embraced yet)

In the second part of conference, the subject of global judging was focused. The effects of electronic commerce to international judgment and the law to be applied has been discussed. During the session it was designated that which of the one side arrangements related to e-commerce causes confusion in law matters and the potential effects of the legal arrangements in the other judging areas and why the private and public adaptation laws may be insufficient.

The answers of two very important questions are searched :

- In case of disagreement which court is authorized for judging?
- For determining the rules shall be applied to this agreement, which place law shall be applied?

The speakers attending from different countries explained the judging authorization of law protectors and courts in their countries and how they execute when they meet the law subjects to be applied.

The president of session, Att. Marina Palomba attending from United Kingdom, as starting her speech saying that, one of the most important advantages of e-commerce is the global format, actually the globalization both delimitizes and creates the most diffucult law problems, she discussed shortly according to her country the legal arrangements in force, the lately developments in this subject and law suits filed. According to this; the legal arrangements about this subject are:

– Brussels and Lugano Conventions: These arrangements has administrated the international disagreements in European and EFTA countries for close to 20 years. These conventions, includes the rules arranging which country shall have the judging authorization during disagreements resulting from cross border proceedings. Ofcourse these arrangements had been brought in a time that international e-commerce and the effects that it may bring couldn’t have seen. According to these, if a commercial business directly interests a consumer in foreign customs district, the residence court of the consumer has the authorizaiton of judging in the condition of a disagreement resulted from agreement.

– The EU Convention Concerning The Law Shall Be Applied In Responsibilities of Agreement 1980 (Rome Convention): This convention was accepted in 1990 by United Kingdom. According to this, the general rule is that; ” The law shall be applied to an agreement is law of place that is decided by parties.” In the condition that there is no decided law ” the law of the country with which it has the most strict connection” shall be applied.

– “Long Arm” Judging Rule Being Applied In United States Of America: Brussel, Lugano and Roem Conventions cannot be applied if one of the parties of an agreement is not an EU country. In USA, because of muchness of the law cases concerning e-commerce, there has been important developments about authorizaiton of judging in the last years. The courts of USA uses the authozation of judging about web sites without considering the site or person or the job behind is resident in USA or another place. In USA the law enables two types of application to judging as general and specific judging. General authorization of judging states the authorization of the court to hear every kind of case related to the acts interest the owner of the website without considering if the act is result of an activity in that province. For this the owner of the website must have a connection with that province which is continuing and systematic. Specific authorization of judging; has a narrower practise area and requires the existance of actions of the website owner that he is performing in USA with the purpose of doing a commercial business.

A website that doesn’t have a content except giving information cannot be a personal and general judging subject. However, if owner of a website runs an interactive website, dependent on the level of interactivity and commercial nature of exchange of information, will be appreciated if it is convenient for enough minimum connection with related place.

The government of United Kingdom decided to support and adaptate the Changed Brussel Convention involves of the lately developments in the beginnig of July 1999, about this subject, Rome II Draft Convention and EU arrangements following Amsterdam Agreement Art.65. The Brussel and Lugano Conventions, involves arrangements that brings rules for the work directly tend to foreign consumer. According to these rules, in the disagreements concerning the agreements, the resident court of the consumer shall be authorized to hear the case. Actually, it is not known completely what the concept ” tend directly to the foreign consumer” means, but it is considered as including the places where the entries to the website of foreign consumer are. Later this situation has been widened as “the activity shall involve the situations that activity tends to one or more member countries.” If a consumer can connect to the website via electronic commerce, without considering the intention of owner of that website, it is assumed as he tends his activitied to that consumer’s country.

The result of these arrangements is that; the internet companies shall not be dependent on only the laws of the countries that their resident exists but also the arrangements of the EU countries too. This means that, probably, it shall be announced that standart articles of work are no longer in force or in lacking provision. In order to perevent this, owners of the websites shall be enforced to limit the countries that websites shall tend to or to prepare standart conditions for every member country.

The Bar Association of United Kingdom and Wales have offered a 12 months moratorium for adaptation to Brussel and Rome Conventions. During this period, by making close studies with the industry and consumer groups in member countries, for determining the difficulties they met in offered arrangements and finding how to overcome these difficulties, they made connection with European Commission.

E-commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) which has come into force as of 17 June 2000, brought 1.5 years adaptation period for member countries. The purpose of this directive is as providing the free circulation of electric service in internal market, at thesame time providing the protection of consumer at hih level. It is hoped that the directive shall be an important step for increasing the competition of e-commerce in EU.

Another development in this matter is Internet Judging Project accomplished by Chicago/City American Bar Association (ABA) in August 2000.

Hague Convention about Private Law which is a draft, brings arrangements about judging and recognition and enforcement of judgment of foreign courts.

As evaluating the Brussel Arrangement and Rome convention together, a company selling good and service via internet, can be sued easily in a country within EU because in that country the website can be entered.

Maria Palomba ended her speech by giving the samples of law cases about this subject.

Rosalind Wright, the manager of Fraud Crimes Bureau in London, as beginnig to her speech by telling the short history of development of commerce via internet, she determined the main threats on internet. Fraud, abusing the credit card information, hacking, producing virus, pornography, service of prostitution, money laundry, guiding for committing crime, information contents racism, terrorism and shopping of the drugs sold only with prescription are only a few of these threats.

According to Wright; in the years of 1980’s, bank robbers tend to commerce of drugs, the reason was containing lower risk. Now the ones making commerce of drugs by the same reason tend to fraud via internet.

The penal judging in United kingdom still depends on the principal of territoriality. However there are some exceptions. For example; the practise of sex tourism which constitutes crime worldwide necessitated the change of United kingdom’s law; in this way about a citizen of Britain goes to abroad for making sex with children, can be prosecuted in United Kingdom.

British Courts shall have the authorization of judging on the runners of web site or servicers of internet, if the internet product that they are responsible for constitutes a crime in whole or a part of England

Presently the arrangement suggested to European Council by the name “Cybercrimes Convention” and to which Japan, USA, South Africa and Canada shall join, which shall necessitate the member parties to make laws about data interference, fraud about computers, child pornography, pursuiting and arrasting to data and other systems, is targeted to be approved by the end of this year.

Collusion of investment can be implemented on internet. There are a lot of ways to commit this crime but all of them are related to the selling of an investment. This can be in the form of the investment not be as the fraudulent presented or not to be concluded as the fraudulent offered. The new issues that internet commerce brings are the matters that, to confirm from where the investment commerce is performed and where the fraudulents making the investment commerce would be prosecuted. Wright stated that, as Fraud Crimes Bureau, there had been a prosecution about a grup making stockbroking and as a result of these investigations jail sentence had been decided however the victims couldn’t take their money and the loss beared.

The traditional trick named “Long firm fraud” on internet which is not either cleverly or funny nor hard; is performed as providing goods via credit by making a business connection with a research done quickly, not making payment for these and disappearing before the things get violent. In our days there are programs determining the valid credit card numbers and if there is a connection between the credit card number the person writing this number.

At any moment new kinds of fraud and trick other that the traditionals are appearing. The solutions of these must be found not with traditional ways but with new methods.

The crime of personal information on computer known by the name “Trojan horse” is performed by introducing a program to the personal computer of the victom. When this program named “Trojan horse” is downloaded by a victom who doesn’t know its content, it opens by itself and electronically circuits around the victom’s computer and from the moment it is discovered that the victom enters a website, it records everything the victom writes. In this situation, while you are entering your secret code on internet, the seen of asterixis doesn’t mean there is secrecy, because every information that you type on your keyboard are beginning to be recorded. Accordingly your secret code, information of your credit card, your name and address while you are shopping online may be easily provided. The most effective method from protection of this is to download a goog and updating virus control program, by this way these programs can catch this kind of situations or at least disapprove the download of these kind of programs.

Rosalind Wright ended her speech which is continued by giving examples of new kind of crimes like this or as interesting as this, by asking the question whether the cyber-world is a seperate area of judging and stating her thought that, as thinking that internet is developed for people, we mustn’t let this to be strong enough to make us desperate and provide advantage to the criminals who use this for bad faith.

After this Att. Ann Ryan Robertson form USA, Teksas took the floor and discussed the judging authorization on internet through the perspective of USA. She explained the general and spacific judging authorization and the long arm rule which were stated before. She told that, seperately from general and specific judging authorization, suggesting the judging authorization in agency relationship based actions, to lengthen the the arms of long-arm rule, the concept of responsibility is beginning to be used. In these examples the judging authorization doesn’t depend on the connections of the defendant in that state who does not have a residence in that place. Instead of this, the actions of the defendant out of the state matching with the actions of a agency or branch office in that state, of the defendant who doesn’t have a residence in that place is being depended.
The Courts of USA in the cases concerning internet determines whether the actions of the defendant corresponds enough conditions for applying the long-arm rule, if it does whether the judging is in accordance with USA Ground Law. Although the rules that shall be applied during determining is always the same, the decisions of the courts given are not always the same. According to Robertson, this difference that at the results of weighing the truths by the truth finder and the long-arm rules of states is the vital point of USA’s law system. However, one of the critisms not surprising, brought by other countries against the USA Courts is there is not an absolute foreseeability.

Robertson, mentioning the passive and interactive web-sites concept, gave as an example, the case between “Zippo Production Co. X Zippo.com” which constitutes example to other court decisions. This court decision approves the truth that all of the websites cannot be evaluated in equal degree.

The project of American Bar Association (ABA) subjected “Judging at Cyber Area” and some suggestions has been brought in the report concerning this project has been explained.

Robertson aligned his suggestions that he thought to be considered for constricting the judging areas. According to this;
- targeting only certain countries or states and be on notice of laws of these countries.
- to necessitate the web site visitor declare his/her residence (area of judging)
- limitation of the interactive nature of web-site
- answering all the issues without discrimination
- all the internet agreements should include the condition to choose the law to br applied.
- as an alternative, including the condition of arbitration and determining the law to be applied.
- arranging the information and/or agreements on website according to the law of targeted judging areas.

The law in USA is smooth and constantly changes as clearly my means of new ideas and solutions. Unfortunately internet forestalls law in the speed of development. Judging in cyber area harbours issues properly within its structure. The old judging rules depends on the principal of territoriality and is over restrictive. Global world needs global law planned specially according to its needs. Until reaching this target, the disagreements concerning the authorization of judging will be met frequently and this situation with a high cost shall cause a considerably time loss. In the present situation the owners of the web-sites are very close to be sued in Kalamazoo, Peru or Timbuktu…

The speaker from Italy Livia Oglio, discussed the approach of legists in her country to the subject of internet. She stated that, internet is an excellent advertising tool in marketing, because it is cheaper that traditional media and reaches to whole world however at present there are various legal restrictions in countries for advertising (for example, forbidding the comparitve advertising, forbidding the advertisements of medical and legal service or tobacco…) and it recures to the mind that, in these situations which law shall be applied. The descent view of Italian legists is in the way that, the law of the country in which the server consisting the message contents advertisement shall be applied. However, there is a general law which is, the law that shall be applied to unfair actings is the law of the place where the acting is performed.

The violation of copyrights and rights of data base are very easy and it is nearly impossible to punish the actings against the whole law worldwide. The Italian courts use the judging authorization if the defendant is residing in Italy or the acting against the law has been performed in Italy.

Another issue is the confusion that the trademark rights and domain names raises. This is not only in the form of violation of a domain name of a trademark, it also occurs in different forms. For example; domain names are unique under a main domain (like. com, .co.uk, tr). But the regular protection of the mark involves a protection concerning, only specific categories of goods and services, the places where the mark is registered and/or used and only against the actings of the competitives causes confusion.

Oglio, after explaining shortly the arrangements has been brought by means of the laws concerning the law procedure in Italy, aligned the law arrangements shall be applied for the selling agreements on internet: Vienna Convention, The Law of Consumer, Hauge Convention, Rome Convention. If it is thought that the convention performed through internet are mostly between enterprises and consumers, the rules concerning the protection of consumers (Directive of EU) which is being applied in European countries must be also considered carefully. The last applied directive of Italy to the laws 97/7/CE, involves to bring arrangements concerning the protection of consumers in long distance selling agreements. E-commerce is also stated among the communication tools that directive involves.

At the courts of the place where the consumer is, there is an option of sueing the foreign company targeted that placa as a market and effects sale to him on internet.

The digital sign is a tool that provides the determination of a document belongs to the person or establishment. Italy has brought arrangements that bring rules which can be applied by this kind of electronic documents: if a document has the qualifications that Information Technologies and Public Administration Association (AIPA) requires and involves a digital sign, shall have the same legal effect as a signed paper document, including the purpose of proof.

2nd DAY
2 MARCH 2001, Friday
2 MART 2001, Cuma

Second day before lunch the presentation bearing to all attenders, subjected ” Woman, Islam and Law” attracted intense interest and has been watched by a high rate of attender colleauges from different countries. We think that this session was useful, which is fairly impressive, qualified speakers has attended.

In this session, with the barriers in the way of strengthening the woman, the important successes that the ones reached in their struggles who did not want to accept the inequality between sexes and want to create a difference. Other than the headings, identity, citizenship, the economic and political position of woman, the differences of law, the role of the family, custom and usages and Islam, violance against woman, law systems, threads to the lawyer protecting human rights, the effects of national and international conflicts on woman, the situations of woman refugees coming from Afghanistan, Keshmir, Somalia and Kosovo has been discussed.

CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, has been the moderator of this session which includes the purpose of finding solutions for strengthening woman by focusing the Islam world.

Att. Shazadi Beg who is a citizen of Pakistan attending from England, discussed the place of woman in Muslim societies in her speech. She told that, killing for decency which is comman in Muslim societies is also murder, for centuries the murders committed for decency has not been considered as a crime and it is necessary to sto this from now on. Beg, mentioning the diffuculties of applying law in a community in which there are people even do not know what law is, stated that there are no given opportunities to women to gain economical rights, they cannot take up a loan from banks, in order to discoucage this in Pakistan two woman banks are established.

According to Beg; in Muslim communities, “equality” is not a good word fo pronounciation and because of this, in stead of this word the expression ” completion of rights” of which the meaning is not specific is used. In order to passing to the equality of opportunity, it is not enough to arrange it in groud laws and law codes. For example; even though in ground law it is arranged that women have education rights too, when there is no school for girls to go in the villages, this law has no meaning, because of it is not applicable.

Beg as stating that, Muslims from every race that are standing side by side before God, are equal, has underlined that, Prophet Mohammed wanted people not to discriminate race and sex. The Holy Koran offers family law rights and property rights to women. Although the religion Islam has offered a lot of rights to women, it has been the most disunderstood religion among the big religions. The ideology of Islam has become almost an antithesis of modern life. The situation of women are being used politically by fundamentalists and this raises dangerous results. The political rules has made women in a victim situation. The culture of jihad caused to make these discussions with weapons. In the report of Amnesty International 1992-1993, it is determined that the sexual attack against woman is seen as a kind of weapon. The religion of Islam is against to all attacks to the human life. The Holy Koran says that: ” The god demands you to be fair.”
After then, the politician Shaheen from Pakistan as taking the floor told the struggle has been performed in her country about the subject of woman rights and the point they have reached in the end. She stated that she was the first woman politician and it was too hard to come to the position of the woman at present in Pakistan but women are optimistic about the future.

She stated that the religion Islam is being used for political purposes not from the rules evaluated under the name “Effective Law of Islam” and only taking place in the Holy Koran and hadiths and but under the concept covering the socio- economic conditions of woman, culturel traditions and political experiences of the government.

As explaining that the “National Woman Commission” under her presidency which is a government organization in Pakistan has been established and by means of the activities of this commisssion, they shall be able to formulate the “Effective Law of Islam” in a positive way, she told that “Effective Law of Islam” is a plural system of law and is

a combination of traditions/customs and secular law codes factor of Islam. National Woman Commission is an organization established to be in action constantly, generating politics for goverment for the subjects affect woman, giving advices and offering suggesitons for alternative law codes.

The vote rates given to woman has growed to .9 in Pakistan in the last elections. Non-Governmental Organization of Woman and woman legists have given a big support to raise this rate and to bring up the woman rights. Sardar told that in Pakistan for 23 years there has been a discrimination, that the cabinet hasn’t taken duty by democratic election, people has become silent, couldn’t talk when it is said “Islam”

Sardar underlining that at present in Pakistan in the law codes predicting sex discrimination are being changed by means of the reforms, ended her speech by stating that it will not be allowed to use the tradition/customs in Islam world against woman.

In the seconde part of the session a video tape has been presented about the woman rights in Iran which was prepared by CNN Reporter Christiane Amanpour.

In the tape, the story of a little girl who was a victim of disagreemant about wardship, the wardship given to her father by the court and has died when she was 8 under her father’s wardship. In the tape presenting very impressive images, the drama and desperation of the little girl’s mother has been displayed. In the tape criticising the wardship given to father automatically, the images of the trial in İran has also been placed. We saw in the tape that, all the trial has begun by praying. We watched that there were women protesting the law of wardship and demanding revenge. In the case, the court hasn’t considered that, the father being accused of causing his daughters death is an ex-convict, the mother stating that he cannot raise a child in a healthy way. Eventually it has been mentioned that the responsible of the little girl’s death who was killed being beaten by her father and brother is at the same time the system. It was stated that, as a matter of fact, also according to the system, because a father cannot receive a sentence by the crime of killing his child, the father killing his 8 years daughter by beating hasn’t been punished.

The brother of the child has been punished for hurting his sister.

The comment that, The court showing as a ground that these rules are predicted in the Holy koran and the wisdom of God cannot be questioned, send a child to death on purpose.

In accordance with the change that has been made in the wardship law of Iran after this case, a child’s wardship shall not be given to a father who is not convenient.

A woman member of parliament from the conservative wing of the Iran Parliament, in the tape, states that supporting this change in common, the Iranian women has more rights than the women in Middle East, for example; In Iran women get education about marriage before they get maried, after marriage the birth control is done without cost.

In the tape also a professor defending woman rights and because of his opinions has been fired from the Tiran University in İran has been placed. The professor who has come to the university during his academic career, struggling against the groups that threathen him and envisaging the danger of death every going out from the lesson, explained his views about the system in Iran.

Amanpour declared that, by means of the Islam revolution has been made during the term of Hatemi, the legal rights of the women has been strengthened, conservatives who watch the reforms Hatemi made during 3 years, anyhow decided to fight and by the result of the presidency elections that will be made in June,2001, the winner of this war will be determined.

Suif, a writer and politician attending the session from Egypt, by telling that the situation of woman in Egypt is a lot better than the former speakers have told, she stated that she desisted to talk about this matter and prefered to talk about the disagreement between Egypt-Israil and she began to her speech which had fairly reactions and found supporters as well.

She told that Palsetinians are allowed to take on a very limited scale of water and by this way Israil plays with the life of this people.

During her speech, the speech was cut many times by a twenty people group of Israelite lawyer and protested. Meanwhile there was a seperate region in the saloon clapping constantly. Our colleagues thinking that it was necessary giving them the right of answering, required to take a right to speak by consulting the president of IBA Dianna Kemp, these demand of our colleagues was rejected.

When the conference was ended, as a group of lawyers attending from Turkey, we prefered to listen their anwers by censuring this attack to our Israelite colleagues by the speaker reflecting her political views to the session by deviating from the subject. When we declared that we support them in this matter, they have asked as whether we were Jewish. This situation made us think that, actually their logic is not very different from the Egyption speaker. In a short period lasted one hour, the Israelite lawyers prepared a text including that they protest this attitute of Egyption speaker’s, the demand of giving them their rights of answering and publishing in the publication of IBA’s and dispatched to the attenders.

In the afternoon we attended the sessions in two different subjects.

Firstly we wacthed the session about advocacy in association in which the speakers performing advocacy in the well-known associations like american Express, Spanish Terra Lycos explaining their positions in these associations.Because of not getting the expected performance from the session in which the associations were explained more than the advocacy, we prefered to attend the session about the art of interviewing with clients for Young Lawyers. In this session presented by Claire Miskin from England, the roles of client and lawyer were shared and the attenders watched an interview. At the end of this interview, the mistakes that have been made and the points that must be bewared have been showed. By setting out with a editted imaginary case, the method of the client quoting the subject and how the lawyer can discover the matters that he would like to learn from client by using the time most effectively has been told. It was mentined that, the client mustn’t be rushed however it is necessary to use the time most effectively, concentration must be provided, the control of the client must always be on lawyer, it is necessary to ask short and clear questions and not the leave the sentences of questions open. It was told that not to ask wide questions, to listen the answer completely and when the answer is not understood it must be asked again.

After that the suggestions about cross examination of the witnesses and the dialog with the judge during trial has been brought. Because of there is no cross examination in our law system, the subjects that we did not meet in practise has been deliberated. Another situation subjected in the session and is different from our system, was that the lawyers generally worked at big companies and this position brings the result that the dialog with the client are fairly different from the dialog in our country.

IN POINT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS:

We attempted to build relationships between our Bar and the foreign country’s bars on all occasions during this conference period that we tried to present Ankara Bar in the best way. Especially, so as to make avable in our library, we required from our colleagues that we met, to send the arrangements concerning the rules of the job in their country. At the same time we gave a short identifier information about the IBA Conference that will be performed in İstanbul at the end of May.

CONCLUSION:

We think that the World Woman Lawyers Conference was fairly efficient and this experience has developed our vision. All the texts that the speakers prepared and has been given to tthe attenders at the conference shall be translated by the Foreign Relations Commission of Ankara Bar and shall be presented to Administrive Board for evaluating in the Library of Ankara Bar Presidency. We thank again to the Ankara Bar Presidency for giving us the opportunity to prepare a report for our colleguages and be useful. With our respects.

Att. Samiye EYUBOĞLU Att. Emine ERGÜL

Att. Burçe DÜNDAR ARI