58th Congress of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA)

The 58th Congress of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA) took place in Florence, Italy, from 29 October 2014 to 2 November 2014. It was attended by Mr. Grozdan Dobrev in his capacity of a national representative for Bulgaria. The main theme of the Congress was the protection of creativity, the law of art, fashion and design.

The International Association of Lawyers is among the largest international non-governmental organizations of lawyers, which is committed not only to promoting legal defence but also the protection of the rights and the fostering of the professional excellence of the members of the legal profession.

It was noted that the protection of creativity in all its forms was a major function of both domestic and international law. Therefore the main theme focused on the ways in which the legal frameworks of individual countries interacted to protect creativity in the closely related spheres of art, fashion, and design. The discussions pointed out the efforts of states on a global scale to recover their cultural heritage lost in wars and plunder, as well as the numerous and successful claims for recovery of stolen antics and pieces of art during the World War II.

Furthermore, the sessions of the Congress focused on the problems related to the freedom of exercise of the legal profession and its independence from government authorities. It should be emphasized that the attention and efforts of the UIA were increasingly oriented to the protection of human rights and professional organizations, including the protection of the rights of lawyers and bars and their freedom and independence. In that connection, the participants discussed the problems of the bar in some countries where we witnessed gross intervention in the work of the legal profession on part of government authorities.