BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimbabwe’s top lawyer Sternford Moyo is the new president of the International Bar Association (IBA) becoming the head of African descent in the history of the 74-year old organisation.
Moyo succeeds Brazil’s Horacio Bernardes Neto and his two-year tenure runs up to December 31, 2022.
He is chairman and senior partner of law firm, Scanlen & Holderness.
Moyo has held numerous senior IBA roles, including: Council Member, Management Board Member, Advisory Board Member and Chair of the African Regional Forum, Deputy Secretary-General for Southern Africa and co-chair of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute.
He has also been Trustee of IBA-established entities, such as the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and eyeWitness to Atrocities, and member of the Task Force on Illicit Financial Flows, Poverty and Human Rights.
He paid tribute to his predecessors and committed to build on their efforts. Moyo said visionary leadership conceived IBA to create relationships and exchanges among individual lawyers, bar associations and law societies; to pursue capacity building for bar associations and to promote continuing
professional development in order to enhance service to the public.
IBA was also formed to protect and promote the rule of law, human ights, effective administration of justice and core values of the legal profession; to promote harmonisation and uniformity in the resolution of difficult legal problems; and to work with international juridical organisations.
“The IBA, under the direction of my predecessors and its executive officers, has been highly successful in advancing these objectives.
Consequently, as I take over as President of our Association, I am pleased to say that I stand on a platform of excellent work done by my predecessors and the employees of the Association,” Moyo said.
“My role shall be to work towards deepening the fulfilment of the objectives of our association and increasing diversity, eliminating all forms of discrimination in the practice of law and administration of justice. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my predecessors and employees of the Association for the solid platform from which I shall be working.”
His professional career has seen him hold a number of leadership positions, including having been a bar leader in Zimbabwe and in Southern Africa, and corporate leader in mining, manufacturing, financial services and leadership development.
