In brief: IBA head praises response to appeal

Desmond Fernando PC, president of the International Bar Association, is "heartened" by the first responses to its One Dollar Per Lawyer appeal, launched in October last year at the IBA conference in Berlin. The appeal aims to secure donations from each of the 2.5m lawyers practising around the globe, which will be channelled directly into the IBA's Human Rights Institute. "It is particularly impressive to note that support has been immediately forthcoming from those less established economies and from countries where the infringement of human rights is of national concern," said Fernando.