Rule of Law as a Call to Arms

Penteris Senior Partner Andrzej Tokaj was in Denmark for the 2026 International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, where he came away with some thoughts on what lies ahead for the legal profession…

In Copenhagen, the biggest surprise was that the message to emerge from the conference of the world’s lawyers was not a typically technical one.

Might is Not Right

IBA President Claudio Visco told delegates that “the fundamental architecture of the post-war order is under strain”, warning that a “might makes right” approach risks becoming the operating principle of international affairs, and that sovereignty “is not something to be bought, traded, or coerced.”

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen made the same point from the other direction, arguing that “diplomacy based on international law can actually deliver results” even where interests and security concerns are significant.

This is backed up with data: the World Justice Project found that the rule of law declined in 68% of countries between 2024 and 2025, the eighth consecutive year in which more countries regressed than improved.

Tool No More

The second message discussed by the world’s lawyers was artificial intelligence. Dr Nicklas Berild Lundblad, former Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs at Google DeepMind argued that the law has always treated computers as instruments, sophisticated typewriters directed by human hands, and that this assumption breaks down once systems begin setting their own sub-goals, entering commitments and negotiating with other autonomous agents across borders.

The question this raises is not how to regulate AI as a product, but how concepts such as agency, liability and duty of care operate once no single person can be said to have directed a given outcome.

Where to Now?

The world has moved beneath our feet. Lawyers will now be expected to take positions, not just give advice. The shift from neutral technician to active defender of legal norms is likely to show up first in public-facing commentary and thought leadership, and over time in how firms position themselves on governance and rule-of-law questions in their home markets.

AI-related legal work will move beyond contracts and compliance into legal theory itself. Expect the next phase of advisory work to grapple with how agency, liability and responsibility should be allocated when decisions are made by autonomous systems rather than directed by identifiable individuals, a question current frameworks are not built to answer cleanly.

Two things became clear as the world’s lawyers left Copenhagen: the rule of law cannot defend itself, and the very notion of legal agency is being rewritten by machines that act without waiting for instructions.