Speaking truth to power without fear or favour: Defending the independence of the legal profession

This is an updated version of remarks made by Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) President Steven Thiru on 14 September 2026 at the International Bar Leaders Forum titled ‘Is the Independence of the Legal Profession under Threat in the Modern Age?’, which took place at the 39th LAWASIA Annual Conference held from 14 to 16 September 2026 in Seoul, South Korea. The international legal profession: A common front Thank you, Mr Wylie Clarke, Chair and President of the South Pacific Lawyers Association, for your generous introduction. I wish to also acknowledge my fellow panel members in this forum: Mr Fernando Hernandez, President of the International Association of Lawyers (‘UIA’); Ms Priti Suri, President of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association; Mr Claudio Visco, President of the International Bar Association; Mr Roman Završek, President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe; and Mr Yap Teong Liang, President of LAWASIA. It is a privilege to be on this panel of eminent international Bar leaders representing leading international law organisations. The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (‘CLA’) thanks LAWASIA for the opportunity to contribute to this important discourse and to address this august gathering of the legal profession in the Asia Pacific and beyond. I wish to also thank Dr Gordon Hughes, Secretary-General of LAWASIA, for his foresight in conceiving and organising this meaningful forum of international Bar leaders at the 38th LAWASIA Annual Conference held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2025, and for its reiteration in this Conference. Six decades of LAWASIA: A shared commitment to the rule of law The CLA congratulates LAWASIA on its 60th anniversary as a premier international law organisation. This is indeed a remarkable achievement — a tour de force spanning six decades of advancing the rule of law, constitutionalism, and human rights. LAWASIA has been at the forefront of preserving and promoting the independence of the legal profession, and its indefatigable efforts in speaking truth to power are an inspiration to the international legal community. The CLA shares a common mission with LAWASIA — and all the other international law organisations in this forum — which is the protection of the legal profession’s