| Time |
Session |
Panelists |
| |
Wednesday, 5 March 2025 |
|
| 17:30 — 19:30 |
Welcome Reception |
|
| |
Thursday, 6 March 2025 |
|
| 8:00 — 9:00 |
Sign-in |
|
| 9:00 — 9:15 |
Welcome and Overview |
|
| 9:15 — 10:30 |
[Session 01] International Internal and Government Investigations |
|
| |
The panel of brainstorming group members will lead a dialogue on their outline which addresses whether WG6 should draft a supplement to International Investigations Principles ("Principles") or a stand-alone Commentary that provides practical and current guidance for issues not addressed in Principles, such as the involvement of AI and other current, applicable technologies, as well as changes in laws that may present new concerns. |
|
| 10:30 — 10:45 |
Morning Break |
|
| 10:45 — 12:00 |
[Session 02] Should the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Address Cross-Border Discovery? |
|
| |
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which govern procedure in all Federal and most State courts in the United States, only address foreign law in passing, and don't mention foreign law or regulation in the discovery sections at all, leaving individual judges to determine the scope and conduct of cross-border discovery under the multi-factor comity test announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1987 Aérospatiale decision. The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States is studying this situation, researching whether it represents a significant problem for courts or litigants, and if so, whether a new rule can be crafted to the existing rules amended to effectively alleviate the problem. Members of the Advisory Committee have held discussions with representatives of the bar, including members of WG6. In this session, they will report on their progress, air some of the proposals they have heard, and hear from you on the issue. |
, |
| 12:00 — 13:00 |
Lunch (provided) |
|
| 13:00 — 14:15 |
[Session 03] Data Protection Law in India in 2025 and Beyond: Expectations for Cross-Border Data Transfers and Best Practices for Practitioners |
|
| |
India recently passed its Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, a law that establishes processing of personal digital data consistent both with an individuals’ right to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes. The law’s enactment was the culmination of a multi-year process, beginning in 2017 with the Supreme Court of India’s recognition of privacy as a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution, and closely followed in 2018 with the formation of a committee of experts, led by former Indian Supreme Court Judge B.N. Srikrishna, tasked with developing a draft bill for data protection. Multiple bills on data protection were ultimately introduced to the Indian Parliament in the years that followed, before ultimate passage of the DPDP in 2023. This panel will discuss in detail the history and evolution of the burgeoning data protection landscape in India and, most critically, what impact on cross-border data transfers for the purposes of litigation and investigations can be anticipated. The panel will also lead a dialogue on what practical steps practitioners can take to best navigate transfers of data to other countries from India. |
|
| 14:15 — 15:30 |
[Session 04] Exporting Data from the People's Republic of China |
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| |
A panel of WG6 drafting team members will lead a dialogue with all attendees on their draft Commentary on Exporting Data from the People’s Republic of China (“draft Commentary”). The draft Commentary addresses the current landscape of laws and regulations, the challenges, and potential avenues for best practices for compliance in the PRC. The draft Commentary (1) provides an overview of the landscape of new and existing (and forthcoming) privacy and data security regulations; (2) addresses the challenges presented by the existing and evolving privacy and data security laws and regulations; and (3) provides current best practices and guidance for complying with these laws and regulations while exporting data from the PRC in connection with legal matters outside of the PRC. |
|
| 15:30 — 15:45 |
Afternoon Break |
|
| 15:45 — 17:00 |
[Session 05] Cross-Border Data and Information Governance - Practical Considerations for Global Compliance |
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| |
A panel of WG6 drafting team members will lead a dialogue with all attendees on their updated draft Guidelines on Cross-Border Information Governance (“Guidelines”). Guidelines is intended to provide guidance to corporate stakeholders, the bench, and the bar on myriad decisions and activities an organization must consider when implementing a cross-border information governance program intended to optimize the balance between the competing demands of ongoing retention of information to meet business, legal, and regulatory demands, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the timely disposition of aged or sensitive information—including disposing of personal data to effectuate recognized data protection principles of data minimization and storage limits and fulfill legitimate data subject access requests. |
|
| 17:00 — 19:00 |
Reception (guests invited) |
|
| |
Friday, 7 March 2025 |
|
| 8:00 — 9:00 |
Sign-in |
|
| 9:00 — 10:15 |
[Session 06] Operationalizing the Hague Evidence Convention and Other Mechanisms for Cross-Border Data Transfers |
|
| |
A panel of WG6 drafting team members will lead a dialogue on their draft Practical Guidance on the Operation of The Hague Evidence Convention (“draft Practical Guidance”). The draft Practical Guidance addresses The Hague Evidence Convention’s (“Convention”) potential to further advance discovery in civil litigation and ways that potential might be advanced. In particular, the draft Practical Guidance explores the use of Letters Rogatory under Chapter 1 of the Convention and the use of Commissioners and Special Masters under Chapter 2 of the Convention in dealing with blocking statutes, data protection laws, and other impediments to the unfettered flow of information across borders. The draft Practical Guidance addresses how those devices are, or may be, (mis)used to impair or impede cross-border transfers for litigation. |
|
| 10:15 — 11:30 |
[Session 07] Draft International Litigation Principles, Second Edition |
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A panel of WG6 drafting team members will lead a dialogue on their latest-draft of the second edition of the International Litigation Principles, which articulates Principles with commentary and practice materials to assist courts, regulators, and litigants in addressing the tension between the U.S.'s liberal approach to discovery and the data protection laws of other nations. |
|
| 11:30 — 11:45 |
Morning Break |
|
| 11:45 — 12:45 |
[Session 08] Town Hall |
| |
WG6 Steering Committee members will lead a dialogue on progress made on the work product of the Working Group. WG6 member input will be sought regarding the future direction of WG6, including ideas for existing and new commentaries and projects. |
|
| 12:45 — 13:00 |
Closing Remarks |
|
| 13:00 — 14:00 |
Lunch (Grab & Go) |
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