Fernando is favourite in IBA election

Sri Lankan lawyer Desmond Fernando and German lawyer Klaus Bohlhoff are front runners in the race to lead the International Bar Association next year.

Voting, which took place in Madrid on 1 June, is expected to see Fernando replace Scottish lawyer Professor J Ross Harper as president, while Bohlhoff, currently treasurer, is likely to become vice-president.

There are some doubts as to the position of Bermuda lawyer Diana Kempe QC who is current secretary general and who would have been expected to run for the post of vice-president. One insider said that if she was not nominated for the post she would stand again as secretary general.