St. Petersburg: Professor Marike Patrani Paulsson, Secretary General of Bahrain's Council for International Dispute Resolution, participated in the main plenary event of the 13th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. The forum, attended by 6,000 participants and live-streamed worldwide, took place from May 19-21 and gathered an international audience, including policymakers and legal experts, under the theme 'The Law: Lessons of the Past for the World of the Future.'
According to Bahrain News Agency, the plenary session commenced with a keynote address by Dmitry Medvedev, the former President of the Russian Federation and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council. Other plenary speakers included Professor Paulsson, Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, President of INTERPOL; Felix Ulloa, Vice-President of the Republic of El Salvador; Karin Kneissl, former Austrian Foreign Minister and chair of G.O.R.K.I at Saint Petersburg State University; and Mateus Saize, Minister of Justice, and of Constitutional and Religious Matters of Mozambique.
Professor Paulsson's speech delved into essential themes such as historical lessons and the ongoing role of the UN Charter, the importance of multilateral adjudicative bodies in ensuring due process and access to neutral justice during conflict, and the complex relationship between sovereignty and the implementation of UN due process mechanisms. She also presented Bahrain's perspective on neutral justice with the creation of its new international hub.
On the sidelines of the forum, Professor Paulsson participated in a meeting between the plenary speakers and Medvedev to compare perspectives and prospects. Additionally, she held talks with Konstantin Chuychenko, the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation, to discuss future collaboration on promoting arbitration, further strengthening Bahrain's commitment to advancing international dispute resolution.