Analyzing the IFA Legal Symposium: Scope and Influence
What is the IFA Legal Symposium?
The IFA Legal Symposium is an annual gathering of leading experts from a variety of fields across the spectrum of international law and tax, including lawyers, academics, judges and government officials among others, including some 700 international practitioners. The purpose of the symposium is to explore jurisprudential developments related to international law and subjects addressed by the International Fiscal Association ("IFA"), which is a worldwide professional organization devoted to the study and clarification of international and comparative law in the area of taxation. The IFA’s activities are focused on the improvement of knowledge , understanding and efficiency in the application of international law and law in the field of taxation.
Founded in 1938, the IFA is an invitation-only organization comprised of more than 12,500 members from more than 110 national branches and 30 study groups. The legal symposium’s reputation therefore extends far beyond American shores. It brings together for thoughtful dialogue what some may refer to as the crème de la crème of practitioners across the globe.
Conference Topics
With each year’s event, the IFA Legal Symposium brings together a veritable who’s who of international finance and taxation law practitioners to discuss and analyse the latest issues and trends in international finance law. In 2018, the event convened on 29th and 30th March to discuss enforcement of securities regulation, recent developments in market conduct, and the enforcement of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AMLCTF) laws.
Market Conduct Issues
In the first session, distinguished lawyer and former deputy chair of ASIC and now Senior Counsel at King & Wood Mallesons, Michael D’Ascenzo gave a presentation of case details that illustrated how market conduct issues can arise in many different ways including: conflicts of interest where investment advisers have an incentive to favour one client over another, front running which occurs when broker dealers take advantage of advance knowledge of large-scale orders from sophisticated clients, insider trading and derivatives trading.
A general theme emerged throughout the discussion around the need for civil and criminal sanctions to be applied to directors and other decision-makers when breaches involving large sums of financial capital occur. Current ASIC penalty powers are largely civil, employing a ‘cost of doing business’ regulatory philosophy with few criminal sanctions even when there is evidence of a lack of process to ensure compliance.
There was also a suggestion that the current regulatory framework could benefit from expanded whistle blower protection, securing information that would otherwise be made secret, deterring potential wrong-doers, and creating greater willingness throughout the organisation to be forthcoming with information. Of course, this is often at odds with an organisation’s commercial preferences which has led to continued challenges in this area.
Other significant issues raised during the two-day event included:
AMLCTF Issues
The seminar also featured a forensic overview of various AMLCTF laws and what the future may hold in this space. The seminar acknowledged a shift away from narrowly defined risks towards more holistic approaches. Investigations are now conducted on the inherent assumption that almost all institutions, institutions staff, and other regulated parties such as corporate advisers, will have some contact with money-laundering activity and/or terrorism financing. It was suggested that this creates a challenging environment for those tasked with AMLCTF compliance, as their job has now become essentially serving a ‘counter-terrorism’ compliance function.
This new paradigm creates challenges in keeping up with changing standards as institutions and regulators alike struggle to apply techniques such as know your customer (KYC). But while there has been a recent shift towards AMLCTF regulators placing duties on senior management and board members to ensure an institution has an effective AMLCTF program, the very nature of financial crime makes it likely that some criminals will be able to operate under the radar. Only time will tell if the changes to AMLCTF laws and enforcement practices will help combat evolving tactics employed by sophisticated criminals.
Important Speakers and Attendees
The IFA Legal Symposium brings together a diverse group of professionals from different sides of the industry, creating a dynamic environment for networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. Attendees typically include senior in-house tax directors and a mix of legal and non-legal senior executives from multiple industries, tax, and financial services practitioners, as well as tax policy makers and officials. This breadth of experience, perspective, and expertise enhances the discussions and panels, prompting thought-provoking questions and contributing to the ongoing dialogue of the international tax community. In addition to corporate tax executives, some notable speakers at the 2016 Legal Symposium included Michèle Knodt (Tax Counsel for Business, European Commission), Harvey Galper (Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (International), IRS), Timothy Shriver (Special Counsel for Cross-Border Investments, US Department of the Treasury), Sally Swartwood (Attorney-Advisor, US Treasury, Office of International Tax Affairs), David Hardesty (Counsel, International Tax Counsel, US Department of Justice), along with highly respected practitioners from leading law firms and accountants around the world.
Influence on International Tax Law
The discussions and resolutions emerging from the IFA Legal Symposium have a lasting influence on policy, practice, and the overall evolution of international tax law. As one of the most prestigious international tax law conferences, the symposium aims to address and reflect upon recent trends and developments, and offer thoughtful solutions to contemporary tax issues. It fundamentally impacts how nations shape their tax policies and enforce their laws.
In many instances, the conclusions and recommendations set forth in the symposium serve as the foundation for new legislation, international treaties, or the development of binding legal norms by international organizations. The discussions and points brought to light by the participants often underscore new risks and challenges faced by governments in enforcing their tax laws in an era of increasing global economic interdependence and digitalization.
The insight gained from the symposium has a particular significance in the development of international tax law . As new issues come to the fore – such as the taxation of digital services, the sharing economy, and new financial products – the ability of the government to meet these new challenges through traditional legislation becomes increasingly difficult. In this regard, it is often the conclusions and recommendations contained in the symposium which provide the sound policy solutions needed to tackle these modern challenges.
Individual commentators might also choose to implement changes in the domestic law or to use ministerial decrees and other forms of non-legislative guidance. In 2017, the Federal Ministry of Finance of Germany amended the transitional rules in general administrative principles for transfer pricing to make it clear that municipalities also have to comply with international transfer pricing standards, especially when transferring public law assets among themselves. Instead of statutory amendments, the IFA Legal Symposium can also provide a good forum for the German Ministry of Finance to explain the rationale of such actions.
Opportunities for Networking and Professional Growth
The IFA Legal Symposium is not just the largest gathering of academics and professionals in "the world’s dandyest location" (as my French wife calls Paris), but one of the best occasions to network with academics and practitioners, and learn from each other as well. The event brings together academics, practitioners and government officials from around the world who share a common commitment to improving our understanding of the law of international taxation. The Symposium is also, of course, a key opportunity to learn, discuss and debate the developments in international tax law and practice.
Legal network opportunities at the IFA Legal Symposium
The IFA Legal Symposium is an ideal opportunity for legal professionals to meet and greet their peers, and obtain useful contacts that last beyond the Symposium. This is particularly true for young practitioners. However, academics use networking at conferences to build collaboration, research and teaching networks, as well as to define their personal role in future IFA conferences. The Professional Development Conference is an excellent platform for senior academics to identify other practitioners and young researchers who can assist them with the development of their professional projects. Perhaps more importantly for young academics , the IFA Legal Symposium is an opportunity to deepen their networks of scholars to expand their possibilities for collaboration when writing research proposals or joint academic papers. International tax scholarship obviously requires an ability (and willingness) to cooperate, which is why the Professional Development Conference also places great emphasis on encouraging academic networking; something the IFA Legal Symposium is particularly well-suited for.
Of course the IFA Legal Symposium is not a professional development conference for legal professionals: IFA tries to keep the balance of around 60%. The seminar format also allows for Legal network opportunities through examples in the domestic or international developments in legal professional education, a member of the executive secretariat of the forum (me) will also try to speak to the challenges facing those who prepare and deliver professional education and training, especially with regard students under 35. Therefore the IFA Legal Symposium is truly an excellent opportunity for legal professionals to meeting their peers and obtain useful contacts that last beyond the symposium.