Legal teams rally to defend the rule of law

Legal teams rally to defend the rule of law

June 21, 2017, Financial Times

Graham Vinter is quoted in a Financial Times article regarding the importance of defending the rule of law to businesses around the world. “The main onus on establishing respect for the rule of law, or establishing the rule of law in a country, is with the politicians,” says Vinter. “It’s too difficult to expect business to bring about change in a particular country. I think that’s too ambitious.” But there is “a direct correlation between levels of foreign direct investment into countries and whether countries have respect for the rule of law,” he adds. “It’s really trying to establish in the mind of politicians that if you want business to prosper, and you want more overseas investment in your country, having a robust respect for the rule of law makes sense for them as well."

Vinter warns that "you can’t approach the rule of law in a way where it’s perceived by a developing market as being almost the imposition of western values — that’s the sensitivity that’s there at the moment,” he says. “The goal is to get the young leaders to be advocates.”