IBA ARF releases comprehensive guide to safeguarding personal data for lawyers

By Joseph Ayinde

The African Regional Forum of the International Bar Association (IBA ARF), has released a comprehensive guide on data protection and privacy laws for legal practitioners on the African continent.

The IBA ARF Data Protection/Privacy Guide for Lawyers in Africa has been developed in the context of a newly implemented European Union data protection law, which sets out stringent rules for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the EU.

Titled ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ (GDPR), it has led to data controllers in Europe calling for their counterparts across Africa to implement similarly rigorous standards for the data processed on their behalf. Despite little or no guidance given to legal practitioners in Africa regarding compliance with these directives, Africa’s data protection regulators have echoed the call of their opposite numbers in Europe.

The IBA ARF’s new guide is to provide vital support for practitioners navigating the complex and changing world of data protection law. Comprehensive and practical in design, the guide will aid Lawyers in advising clients and ensuring compliance by their practices, with the fast-evolving and increasingly expansive areas of data protection and privacy laws.

The new guide has drawn on international best practice guidelines and data laws already adopted in African nations and provides advice on how to manage personal data within a law firm, as well as easy-to-implement sustainable protocols and controls that adhere to privacy laws. Chapters include:

• Data Protection in Africa;
• Data Protection principles;
• Common Exemptions;
• Individual Rights;
•Data Controller/Data Processor Obligations;
•Regulator Powers; and
•How the GDPR affects your practice