Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated March 31, 2026

We at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (“IPBA”) recognize the importance of the Personal Data you have entrusted to us and take measures designed to manage, protect and process your Personal Data.

This data protection policy (the “Privacy Policy”) will assist you in understanding how we collect, use, disclose and/or process the Personal Data you have provided to us or that we process about you, as well as assist you in making an informed decision before providing us with any of your Personal Data. The term “Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier. This Privacy Policy applies to the events organized, the membership services, website(s), and applications(s) provided and/or the business conducted by IPBA and explains how we handle Personal Data and comply with the requirements of applicable privacy law, including where applicable, Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”), the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (“EU-GDPR”), the General Data Protection Regulation of the United Kingdom (“UK-GDPR”, referred to together with the EU-GDPR as the “GDPR”), and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information of Japan (“APPI”). If you, at any time, have any queries on this Privacy Policy or any other queries in relation to how we may manage, protect and/or process your Personal Data, please do not hesitate to contact our Data Protection Officer (i.e., the IPBA’s Chief Technology Officer as set forth in https://ipba.org/about-us/leadership/4/) via the contact details below:

Telephone number:   +81-3-5786-6796.

E-mail: cto@ipba.org. Attention to the ‘Data Protection Officer’.

Office address: IPBA Secretariat, Roppongi Hills North Tower 7F, 6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 Japan. Attention to the ‘Data Protection Officer’.

Our EU-GDPR representative according to Art. 27 EU-GDPR is:

Rickert Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
Colmantstrasse 15, 53115 Bonn, Germany
E-mail:   art-27-rep-ipba@rickert.law

Our UK-GDPR representative according to Art. 27 UK-GDPR is:

Rickert Services Ltd UK
PO Box 1487, Peterborough
PE1 9XX, United Kingdom
E-mail: art-27-rep-ipba@rickert-services.uk

1. Collection of your personal data

1.1 We may collect Personal Data from you through various means, including but not limited to through our website, application, or in person. Where required by applicable law, before we collect any Personal Data from you, we will notify you of the purposes for which your Personal Data may be collected, used and/or disclosed, as well as obtain your consent for the collection, use and/or disclosure of your Personal Data for the intended purposes.

1.2 You have no obligation to provide any of the Personal Data requested by us. However, depending on circumstances, it may be the case that if you do not provide the requested Personal Data, we may not be able to provide you with certain products and services that depend on the collection, use, or disclosure of your Personal Data.

1.3 Your consent that is given pursuant to this Privacy Policy is additional to and does not supersede any other consents that you provided to IPBA with regard to processing of your Personal Data. For the avoidance of doubt, that you read and understand this Privacy Policy does not constitute as consent within the meaning of the EU-GDPR and UK-GDPR.

1.4 We may collect Personal Data from you on the following legal bases:

  • Your consent;
  • For the performance of a contract of which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (contractual necessity);
  • Based on our legitimate interest to provide you with a secure and functional website and membership platform and other services; or
  • To comply with legal obligations to which we are subject.

For the purposes of Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act 2012, we may also rely on deemed consent, including where you voluntarily provide your personal data for a purpose that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, or where collection, use or disclosure is reasonably necessary for the performance of a contract.

1.5 The Personal Data collected by IPBA may include, without limitation: 

  • Identifiers, such as your name, email, address, country of residence, other contact information, tax identification number.
  • Professional information, such as your firm’s name, address, phone number, and fax number, your practice area(s), your designation or position, the city in which you practice, and the jurisdictions in which you are admitted to practice law.
  • Financial information, such as your tax identification number.
  • Visual or audio information, such as your image or voice in videos or photographs taken at events or webinars or contained within articles, presentations or other forms of publications.
  • Other profile information, including IPBA membership status, CLEs, conferences, local or regional meetings and other events and meetings attended, and dietary needs.
  • Any other information you choose to share with IPBA.

1.6 The IPBA also uses cookies on some pages of its website. “Cookies” are small text files placed on your computer that assist the IPBA in providing the website experience and gaining insight how the website is being used. If you are concerned about cookies, most browsers permit individuals to decline cookies. In most cases, a visitor may refuse a cookie and still fully navigate the IPBA websites; however, other functionality in the site may be impaired. When leaving the IPBA website, you can delete the cookie from your system if you wish. The IPBA deploys cookies, such as:

 

Cookie’s name Purpose Duration
PHPSESSID To login registered members on the IPBA website’s member-only area. Session only
Google Analytics To track visitor behaviour on the IPBA website. Where required under applicable laws, we will obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. 2 years

2. Purposes for collection, use & disclosure of personal data

The Personal Data which we collect from you may be collected, used and/or disclosed for the following purposes (collectively, the “Purposes”):

  • a) Facilitating, processing, dealing with, administering, managing and/or maintaining your relationship with us or as necessary to fulfill our obligations under contracts with you, including but not limited to the provision of products or services to you or to complete a transaction
  • b) Marketing, including providing you with marketing, advertising and promotional information, materials and/or documents relating to products, contests, services and/or events (including those of third party organizations whom we may collaborate with) that we or relevant third party organizations may be selling, marketing, offering, organizing, involved in or promoting, whether such products, services and/or events exist now or are created in the future. Where we send marketing messages to Singapore telephone numbers, we will comply with the Do Not Call Registry provisions under the PDPA, including obtaining your consent where required.
  • c) Conducting research, analytics and development activities (including but not limited to data analytics, surveys and/or profiling) to improve our services, website, platform and facilities in order to enhance your relationship with us or for your benefit, to improve any of our products or services, to facilitate or administer your use of our website, and/or to assist us in improving your experience in using our website
  • d) Storing, hosting, or backing up (whether for disaster recovery or otherwise) your Personal Data
  • e) Ensuring the security of our website, platform and systems
  • f) Facilitating, dealing with and/or administering external audit(s) or internal audit(s) of the business of IPBA
  • g) Carrying out due diligence or other screening activities (including background checks) in accordance with legal or regulatory obligations applicable to us, the requirements or guidelines of governmental authorities which we determine are applicable to us, and/or our risk management procedures that may be required by law or that may have been put in place by us
  • h) Preventing or investigating any fraud, unlawful activity or omission or misconduct and investigating and resolving complaints
  • i) Complying with or as required by any applicable law, regulation, court order, subpoena, order of a regulatory body, governmental or regulatory requirements of any jurisdiction applicable to us, and cooperating with public and government authorities, courts, ministries, statutory boards, law enforcement, and similar authorities, including meeting disclosure requirements under applicable law, and/or for the purposes of any guidelines issued by regulatory or other authorities, with which we are expected to comply
  • j) Protecting the health or safety of IPBA personnel, the public, or you
  • k) In connection with a business transfer or corporate transaction
  • l) For legal purposes, including in response to a court order, subpoena, or government investigation, to protect the legitimate rights or interests of IPBA, personnel, or the general public, to enforce our policies and procedures, to respond to an emergency, or as otherwise required by law or legal process

For Personal Data of individuals located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the legal bases for the processing for the above purposes are as follows:

  • Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) EU-/UK-GDPR): for purposes b), c)
  • Contractual necessity (Art. 6(1)(b) EU-/UK-GDPR): for purpose a)
  • In case of binding requests by EU/UK authorities, compliance with the legal obligations (Art. 6(1)(c) EU-/UK-GDPR): for purposes i), l)
  • Necessity to protect vital interests (Art. 6(1)(d) EU-/UK-GDPR): for purpose j)
  • IPBA’s legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) EU-/UK-GDPR): for purposes a) through i), j) through l); the legitimate interest being generally the pursuit of the respective purpose

3. Disclosure and transfer of personal data

3.1 We may disclose Personal Data to our agents, affiliates, and service providers for the above-stated Purposes. We may also disclose Personal Data for legal purposes, such as to legal authorities, public agencies, ministries, statutory boards, law enforcement, or similar authorities, or as required by law or legal process. We may also disclose Personal Data to other recipients with your consent.

3.2. Where personal data is transferred outside Singapore, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the recipient provides a standard of protection comparable to that under the PDPA.

3.3 For Personal Data of individuals located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Japan, we have taken reasonable steps designed to ensure that an adequate level of data protection is achieved in connection with cross-border data transfers in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including by implementing appropriate transfer mechanisms, such as contractual safeguards, as applicable.

3.4. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in significant harm or involves a significant scale, IPBA will notify the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore and affected individuals in accordance with applicable laws.

4. Retention period

4.1 We retain your Personal Data if you remain a member of the IPBA.

4.2 The Personal Data of former IPBA members is deleted when (i) the purpose for which that Personal Data was collected is no longer being served and (ii) the retention is no longer necessary for any other legal or business purposes. However, we may retain certain personal data after membership ends for legal, accounting, regulatory or dispute resolution purposes for a period of 5 years, after which it will be securely deleted or anonymised.

5. Your rights

5.1 IPBA is the controller of your Personal Data as described in this Privacy Policy, unless expressly specified otherwise.

5.2 You may have the following rights, subject to legal limitations, concerning our collection, use, disclosure and other processing of your Personal Data:

  • Right to Access: The right to confirm whether or not we process Personal Data from you and, where that is the case, to receive your Personal Data and other information as set forth in applicable data protection law.
  • Right to Erasure: The right to request that we delete your Personal Data.
  • Right to Correct: The right to request that we correct your inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: The right to withdraw consent you have previously given to IPBA at any time. Your withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of our collection, use, disclosure or other processing of your Personal Data prior to the withdrawal of your consent.
  • Right to Limit or Restrict: The right to request that we stop using, transferring or otherwise processing your Personal Data or to limit our use or other processing of such Personal Data.
  • Right to Data Portability: The right to receive your Personal Data, which you have provided to us, in a machine-readable format and the right to transmit those data to a third party, when we are processing your Personal Data based on your consent or based on contractual necessity.
  • Right to Object: The right to object to our processing of your Personal Data.
  • Right to Lodge a Complaint: The right to lodge a complaint about our privacy practices with a Supervisory Authority. You can find contact information for your Supervisory Authority on the European Commission Data Protection Authorities webpage or through other publicly available sources.

5.3 If you choose to exercise any of these rights, IPBA will not discriminate against you for your exercise of these rights. If you do exercise certain rights, understand that you may be unable to use or access certain features of IPBA’s services.

5.4 You may exercise your rights by submitting your request through the following methods:

(a) Telephone number:   +81-3-5786-6796.
(b) E-mail:  cto@ipba.org. Attention it to the ‘Data Protection Officer’.
(c) Office address: IPBA Secretariat, Roppongi Hills North Tower 7F, 6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 Japan. Attention it to the ‘Data Protection Officer’.

5.5 IPBA does not take decisions solely based on Personal Data processed using automated tools.

6. Security of personal data

We have taken commercially reasonable efforts to take appropriate precautions and preventive measures designed to ensure that your Personal Data is accurate and complete, and is adequately protected and secured. Appropriate security arrangements have been taken that are designed to prevent unauthorized access or use of your Personal Data. However, we cannot assume responsibility for any unauthorized use of your Personal Data by third parties which are attributable to factors beyond our control.

7. Complaint process

7.1 If you have any complaint or grievance regarding about how we are handling your Personal Data or about how we are complying with the PDPA, the EU-/UK-GDPR or the APPI, we welcome you to contact us with your complaint or grievance.

7.2 Please contact us through one of the following methods with your complaint or grievance:
(a) Telephone number:   +81-3-5786-6796.
(b) E-mail: cto@ipba.org. Attention it to the ‘Data Protection Officer’.
(c) Office address: IPBA Secretariat, Roppongi Hills North Tower 7F, 6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 Japan. Attention it to the ‘Data Protection Officer’.

7.3 Where it is an email or a letter through which you are submitting a complaint, your indication at the subject header that it is a PDPA, EU-/UK-GDPR or APPI complaint would assist us in attending to your complaint speedily by passing it on to the relevant staff in IPBA to handle. For example, you could insert the subject header as “PDPA Complaint”.

7.4 We will certainly strive to deal with any complaint or grievance that you may have speedily and fairly.

8. Personal data of children

We do not knowingly collect the Personal Data of any person under the age of 13, nor do we target our services to anyone under the age of 13. If IPBA learns a person under the age of 13 has submitted Personal Data to us, we will take reasonable measures to delete that data, unless otherwise required by law. If you believe a person under the age of 13 has submitted Personal Data to us, please contact us at cto@ipba.org.

9. Updates to privacy policy

9.1 As part of our efforts to ensure that we properly manage, protect and process your Personal Data, we will be reviewing our policies, procedures and processes from time to time.

9.2 We reserve the right to amend the terms of this Privacy Policy at our absolute discretion. Any amended Privacy Policy will be posted on our website.

9.3 You are encouraged to visit our website and review our Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure that you are well informed of our latest policies in relation to Personal Data protection.

9.4 Certain rights described above apply only to individuals located in jurisdictions where such rights are provided by law (e.g. the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom). 

 

RIDERS FOR AUSTRALIA

Last updated October 16, 2026

Inter-Pacific Bar Association Limited (“IPBA”), having its registered address at Inter-Pacific Bar Association Limited, 9 Straits View #06-07, Marina One West Tower, Singapore 018937, has adopted this Riders for Australia policy (“Riders for Australia”) to outline the manner in which personal data with a relevant nexus to Australia is managed, protected and processed to the extent that the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”) applies to IPBA. These riders shall be read in conjunction with, and form an integral part of, the privacy policy of IPBA (“Privacy Policy”). In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between the Riders for Australia and the Privacy Policy, the provisions of the Riders for Australia shall prevail (but only to the extent that the Privacy Act applies).

The Privacy Act applies extraterritorially to organisations that have an “Australian link” under section 5B of the Privacy Act. Under section 5B(1A), the Act extends to acts done, or practices engaged in, outside Australia by an organisation that carries on business in Australia. To the extent the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (“APPs”) apply to IPBA, then these Riders for Australia shall apply to supplement IPBA’s Privacy Policy and assist IPBA in complying with those requirements. Words and expressions used but not defined in the Riders for Australia shall have the same meanings assigned to them under the Privacy Act or in the Privacy Policy.

1. Definitions

1.1 Personal Data: For the purposes of these Riders for Australia, the term “Personal Data” as used in the Privacy Policy shall be taken to include “personal information” as defined under section 6(1) of the Privacy Act, being information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

1.2 Sensitive Information: For the purposes of these Riders for Australia, the term “Sensitive Information” shall have the same meaning as “sensitive information” under section 6(1) of the Privacy Act, including information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation or practices, criminal record, health information, genetic information, biometric information, or biometric templates.

2. Collection of Personal Data (supplementing Privacy Policy clause 1)

2.1 At or before the time of collection, or as soon as practicable thereafter, IPBA takes reasonable steps to notify individuals of the matters required by APP 5, including: the identity and contact details of IPBA; the purposes for which Personal Information is collected; any Australian law or court/tribunal order that requires or authorises the collection; and whether Personal Information is likely to be disclosed to overseas recipients.

2.2 Sensitive Information will not be collected unless the individual provides express consent and the collection is reasonably necessary for IPBA’s functions or activities (APP 3.3).

2.3 Where practicable, individuals have the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with IPBA, unless it is impracticable for IPBA to deal with them on that basis, or IPBA is required or authorised by or under an Australian law, or a court/tribunal order, to deal with individuals who have identified themselves (APP 2).

2.4 IPBA does not rely on “legitimate interest” as a legal basis for collection under Australian law. To the extent that the Privacy Act applies to IPBA, where the Privacy Policy references legitimate interest as a basis for processing, that basis does not apply to the collection, use or disclosure of Personal Data under these Riders for Australia.

3. Use and Disclosure (supplementing Privacy Policy clause 2)

3.1 IPBA will only use or disclose Personal Data for the primary purpose for which it was collected, or for a secondary purpose where: the individual has consented; or the individual would reasonably expect such use or disclosure and the secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose (or, in the case of Sensitive Information, directly related to the primary purpose) (APP 6).

3.2 IPBA will not use or disclose Sensitive Information for direct marketing purposes without the individual’s express consent. A simple means to opt out of direct marketing communications will be provided at all times (APP 7).

4. Cross-Border Disclosure (supplementing Privacy Policy clause 3)

4.1 Personal Data is likely to be disclosed to overseas recipients in countries where IPBA holds conferences, maintains Secretariat functions (Japan), or engages service providers.

4.2 Where Personal Data is disclosed to an overseas recipient, IPBA will take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient does not breach the APPs in relation to the information (APP 8).

5. Data Security and Notifiable Data Breaches (supplementing Privacy Policy clauses 3.4 and 6)

5.1 IPBA will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify Personal Data that is no longer needed for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed under the APPs, and that is not required to be retained by or under an Australian law or court/tribunal order (APP 11.2).

5.2 In the event of an eligible data breach within the meaning of Part IIIC of the Privacy Act that is likely to result in serious harm to one or more individuals, IPBA will notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the affected individuals as soon as practicable, in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

6. Your Rights (supplementing Privacy Policy clause 5)

To the extent that the Privacy Act applies to IPBA, the following rights apply under the Privacy Act in addition to the rights set out in the Privacy Policy:

6.1 Right to Access (APP 12): You have the right to request access to Personal Data held by IPBA about you. IPBA will respond to your request within a reasonable period and will provide access in the manner requested by you, if it is reasonable and practicable to do so.

6.2 Right to Correction (APP 13): You have the right to request the correction of Personal Data held by IPBA about you to ensure it is accurate, up to date, complete, relevant and not misleading.

7. Complaints

7.1 If you have a complaint in relation to the handling of Personal Data in contravention of the Privacy Act or the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact the IPBA’s Chief Technology Officer using the contact details set out in clause 8 below.

7.2 IPBA will investigate and respond to your complaint within a reasonable period. Where your complaint is marked as an “APP Complaint” in the subject line of your email, this will assist IPBA in attending to your complaint promptly.

7.3 If you are not satisfied with IPBA’s response to your complaint, or if you wish to make a complaint directly to the Australian privacy regulator, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

          Online: www.oaic.gov.au
          Telephone: 1300 363 992
          Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
          Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

8. Contact

If you wish to exercise any rights provided herein, make a complaint, or have any query with respect to these Riders for Australia, please contact:

          Attention: Chief Technology Officer
          E-mail: cto@ipba.org
          Telephone: +81-3-5786-6796
          Office address: IPBA Secretariat, Roppongi Hills North Tower 7F, 6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 Japan