sunday 10 May 2026
18.00 - 19:30: Arrivals
monday, 11 May 2026
8:00 - 8:30. Registration
8:30 - 10:00 Welcoming Session and Opening Addresses - Chatrium Ballroom
Roger Joseph (Rocky) Guzman, Law and Policy Director, Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law
Sor Rattanamanee, Executive Coordinator, Community Resource Centre
T L Yap, President LAWASIA
Shanmuga Kanesalingam, Co-Chair of HR Committee, LAWASIA
Keynote Addresses
Gaythri Raman, Managing Director, LexisNexis
Dr Seree Nonthasoot, Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
10:00 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 12:00 Parallel Session 1
1A Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Launch Event - Chatrium Ballroom
Civic Space and the Rule of Law in Asia
Ms Valentina Schott, Programme Manager, Rule of Law Programme Asia, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
e.V. Prof. Emer. Vitit Muntarbhorn, International human rights expert
Dr Teh Lip Li, Associate Fellow, The Habibie Centre and Fellow, Academy of Brunei Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
Mr Daniel Braza, Environmental Concerns, Philippines
Mr George Hwang, Director, GEORGE HWANG LLC
Prof. Yasushi Higashizawa, Former Co-Chair of the Human Rights Committee of LAWASIA
1B Environmental Rights – Investment Treaties, and Investor-State Disputes
Anjo David, Senior Associate, Wilmer Hale
Elizabeth Wu, Independent transnational governance lawyer
Briony Eales, Environmental Lawyer
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 - 15:00 Parallel Session 2
2A Human Rights and the Courts -Chatrium Ballroom
George Hwang, Director, George Hwang LLC (Moderator)
Dr Srirak Plipat, Senior Director, World Justice Project
Vivek Sukumaran, Chairman, Bar Council Criminal Law & Strategic Litigation Committee
Atty. Julianne Agpalo, National Union of Peoples Lawyers
2B Environmental Rights in Asia-Pacific
Roger Joseph Guzman, Director, Law and Policy, Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law
Sanjay Upadhyay, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Windi Arini, Regional Director (interim), Asia and the Pacific, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Lilla Garayova, Professor of International Law, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law, Pan-European University
2C Indigenous Peoples Rights
Baljeet Kaur Harbhajan Singh, Advocate & Solicitor H. Baljeet & Co.
Ms Mina Kobayashi, Attorney, Japan Federation of Bar Associations
Venuke Cooray, Senior Partner, Cooray & Cooray International Legal Consultants
Seira Sacha Abu Bakar, Partner, Messrs Seira & Sharizad
15:00 - 15:30 Break
15:30 - 17:00 Parallel Session 3
3A Harnessing AI for the Rule of Law - Chatrium Ballroom
George Hwang, Director, George Hwang LLC
Md Imam Hossain, Head of Chamber Investment & Development Consultancy Litigation and Arbitration (IDCLA)
Grace Wu, Solicitor, Longton Blackwell
Babu Ram Aryal, Advocate, Secretary, Nepal Bar Association
3B Environmental Rights and Institutions
Puspa Pokharel, PhD Candidate, The University of Hong Kong
Pravartak Pathak, Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India
Dr Debra Long, Law Society of England and Wales
Nadthasiri Bergman, South-east Asian Legal Defense Initiative (SEALDI)
3C Transnational Rights Crises
Priya Ahsan Chowdhury, Barrister / Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Dr Kamal Hossain and Associates
Liezl Parajas, Attorney, American Bar Association
Jerome Sesega, Legal Counsel & Company Secretary, Mineral Resources Development Company Ltd
17:15 - 18:00 Chatrium Ballroom - Special Showing - Guarding Gaia
17:30 - 19:30 Welcome Reception - Chatrium Hotel, Level 36
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
9:00 - 9:15 Observations from Day 1
9:15 - 10:30 Plenary Session 2 - Protecting the Defenders and the Role of Lawyers - Chatrium Ballroom
Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, Executive Coordinator, Community Resources Centre Foundation
Daniel Braza, Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders
Ronan MacSweeeny, President, Law Society of NSW, Australia
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 12:30 Parallel Session 4
4A Modern Slavery and the Right to Dignity - Chatrium Ballroom
Stephen Hughes, Partner, Longton Blackwell
Gopal Krishna Ghimire, Immediate Past President – Nepal Bar Association, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Nepal, Partner, Chaitanya Law Associates
Dr. Sahana Reddy
David Welsh, Country Director/Lawyer, Solidarity Center Thailand
4B Climate Change and Human Rights
Sugandha Yadav, Advocate and Researcher, Independent Practitioner
Dina Mani Pokharel, PhD, Senior Advocate, Former Attorney General, Development Law Associates
Redza Zakaria, Head, Unit of Maritime Law, Policy and Governance, and Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya
Mr Bouneua Khamphilavanh, Deputy Head of Pollution Control Division
4C Challenges for Responsible Business
Vinod N.G Partner Law Chambers of Vin Sa & Ian
Dr Pillkyu Hwang, GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation
Dhaval Deshpande, Managing Partner, Law Chambers of Dhaval Deshpande
Akiko Sato, Attorney at Law, Kotonoha Law
12:30 - 13:00 Lunch
14:00 - 15:30 Parallel Session 5
5A Rights in the Digital Age - Chatrium Ballroom
Elena Pribytkova, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore
Prof. Dr. Bijaya Prasad Mishra, Senior Advocate, President, Nepal Bar Association
Noelle Martin, Lawyer
5B Role of Lawyers and the Courts in Advancing Environmental and Gender Justice
Jiahuan Yuan, UNDP
Professor Hitoshi Ushijima, Chuo University
Mahek Bookwala, Advocate
Ms. Thipphasone Luangaphay, Head of Administration Office, Laos Bar Association
5C Sustainable Finance and Responsible Business
Gunarani Ganasagaran, Director, Sustainability Consulting Asia
Saravanan Krishnan, Partner, Law Chambers of Vin Sa & Ian
Govind Manoharan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Elizabeth Wu, Independent transnational governance lawyer
15:30 - 15:50 Break
15:50 - 16:30 Closing Session - Chatrium Ballroom
Conference Terms
The Conference Program is subject to change without notice. The information and views presented in the conference are not necessarily those of the conference organisers, and participants rely on these at their own risk. The conference organisers are not responsible for any financial or other losses incurred by delegates or for injury or damage to persons or property.