Sergei Stepashin, former prime minister and chairman of the Russian Bar Association
Photo: Oksana ZUYKO. Go to Photobank KP
On Thursday, September 19, the plenary session of the 9th BRICS Legal Forum “The Law Protecting a Fair World” was held at the MGIMO University of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. The President of the Russian Bar Association, Sergey Stepashin, delivered the opening speech to the audience. He also read out Vladimir Putin’s greetings.
During a break in the meeting, Sergei Vadimovich answered questions from a Komsomolskaya Pravda journalist…
… – It would seem that this is just a plenary session. And it is given such importance: the President of Russia greeted the participants. (Welcome text; see below).
– Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matvienko also sent their greetings.
– Sergei Vadimovich, why so much attention?
– The fact is, Sasha, that today BRICS is, in fact, an organization that predetermines a new world order based on real international rules, on mutual interests, on the provision of assistance and support.
-And the BRICS are expanding…
– Today we had representatives from 10 countries. And there are also applications from 32 states. And a forum of the top leaders of the countries of this authoritative international organization will be held in the capital of Tatarstan. (The BRICS summit in Kazan will be held from October 22 to 25. – AG) And it is very important for us to prepare, as they say, the entire legal basis for the further activities of this organization.
– What directions are we talking about?
– This includes the procedure for providing investments and the rules for conducting arbitration disputes and plans for staff training… In addition, the topic of combating terrorism and cybercrime, issues of digitalization and artificial intelligence. That is, everything that was discussed today on all platforms of our BRICS summit.
We have prepared and will now discuss a serious memorandum which we will send, among other things, to our President.
– Please tell me, you have had several bilateral meetings. With whom exactly?
– With representatives from all the countries that sent delegations to our forum. This is China, this is the United Arab Emirates…
My meeting with the Iranian delegation has just ended. I also had the opportunity to communicate with representatives from Egypt, India, Brazil…
– It’s empty. What did they talk about, what decisions were made?
– At the “bilateral meetings” we talked about cooperation between Russia and these countries, which is developing very dynamically, it should be noted. So here we are, as they say, on the street. Moreover, the bar associations of these countries have quite a lot of authority.
– There is still more than a month to go before the BRICS summit in Kazan, and there is already fear in the West. Some people are seriously dreaming of trying to disrupt the summit… I don’t know how.
– They won’t succeed. Because the BRICS countries are already the largest economies; they represent a large part of the world’s population. Moreover, this authoritative international organisation, the BRICS, is based on interaction and cooperation.
We have no principals and no hegemony. No one intimidates anyone. We generally declare that we are not friends with anyone. We simply work together in the name and for the benefit of the interests of our peoples.
– Why did former Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, the chairman of the Russian Bar Association, deliver a welcoming speech today?
– Because Russia was the organizer of the Moscow summit. That’s why I acted.
– And you were assigned to read Putin’s greetings.
– Who else? I am the head of the Russian Bar Association. Russia was the organizer of this legal forum. This is the second time we have held it. The first one was in St. Petersburg.
So, in fact, I did what I had to do as the leader of this Association of ours.
– It is empty. Will the Russian Bar Association, headed by Stepashin, be able to provide the BRICS with a reliable legal basis? Will this basis suit all other countries that will be accepted into this association?
– Well, let’s see how it all develops. Because new BRICS members are emerging, this may be new for them. But we already have a lot of experience working together, so I think everything will be fine.
– Well, and perhaps the last question. I can’t help but ask what is happening in the world now. This is, first of all, the situation in Lebanon, where you and I were once on a business trip.
“Today we discussed precisely this issue with our Iranian colleagues. This is a situation related to the fight against terrorism and cybercrime. This is a completely new round, not even of tension, but of a new type of terrorism, I would call it that.
– When you and I were there in Beirut, do you remember?, there near our hotel, where we lived, already then…
– There was an explosion.
– The car exploded. I saw your speech on television… Why do you speak so optimistically about this international formation that, well, some say, “supposedly never took place”?
– This is how it happened, there are no big apparatuses of officials, they do not receive crazy money and then start to govern as leaders, as sometimes happens in other international organizations. This is the first one.
Second, after all, no one is forcing countries to join BRICS. It is a completely voluntary collaboration and people see great benefits in it.
First of all, I would like to stress once again our citizens living in the BRICS countries. This, excuse me, is half of the world’s population.
– So, what will be the main thing in the memorandum that you will hand over to Vladimir Putin?
– There were many positions, I listed them all today.
– Yes, I understand. In our interview, you mean?
– Yes. And one more thing… Following the results of the 9th BRICS Legal Forum, it is planned to sign a declaration that will summarize the results of the discussions and outline the main directions for further legal cooperation between the BRICS countries.
FROM VLADIMIR PUTIN’S WELCOME SPEECH
“Direct informal communication between accredited lawyers and practising lawyers from the BRICS countries is increasingly in demand, especially given the expansion of this association. The theme of the current forum – “The Law Protecting a Fair World” – is fully in line with the priorities of the Russian BRICS presidency and undoubtedly corresponds to the general spirit of the participating countries to strive for the formation of a truly democratic multipolar world order, based on clear and binding legal norms.”
