The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, has formally endorsed the Council of Europe Framework Convention on artificial intelligence (AI) and human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The Framework Convention is the first ever international legally binding treaty for the governance of AI. It aims to ensure that activities within the lifecycle of AI systems are fully consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama, President of the IBA, said the Council of Europe’s AI Convention has established a necessary foundation to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in our digital age. “Lawyers and law societies around the world should seek to ensure its rapid adoption and implementation.”

This endorsement follows in the wake of a report, The Future is Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Legal Profession, recently published by the IBA in partnership with the Centre for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), a worldwide network of AI policy experts and human rights advocates.

Marc Rotenberg, Founder of CAIDP, directed the project. The combined expertise of the IBA and CAIDP underscores the relevance of the legal profession’s involvement in AI governance developments.

The report, launched during the 2024 IBA Annual Conference in Mexico City, highlights the importance of the legal sector as a key stakeholder in determining the governance principles of AI, ensuring responsibility, fairness and transparency, thus avoiding black box decision-making that would frustrate the administration of justice.

The IBA President added: “The legal profession may not be alien to the AI revolution. We must play an active role in the governance of technological changes, avoiding developments that may risk fundamental values of our modern societies: human rights, defence of democracy and, the basis of it all, the rule of law.

“We must also embrace new technologies, and the great benefits attached to them. I encourage other legal associations, with national or international reach, to also endorse the Framework Convention and to support its adoption and implementation.”