cib

What cib does

CIB (Conférence Internationale des Barreaux de tradition juridique commune) is a French loi 1901 non-profit association founded in 1985 and headquartered in Paris that coordinates cooperation, training, and professional exchange among bar associations and individual lawyers sharing the French civil-law tradition. It serves as a federation of bar associations ("barreaux") across approximately 42 countries spanning francophone Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, North Africa, and the Middle East, and is recognized as one of the 16 Institutional Networks of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

The association's portfolio is anchored by an annual international congress (the 39th was held in Lomé, Togo in December 2025; the 40th is scheduled for Brazzaville in December 2026) that produces formal resolutions on rule-of-law topics, plus a recurring program of colloquia, webinars, and continuing-education trainings. Adjacent products include the Concours Monferrier Dorval international oratory competition for young lawyers, the Prix CIB Bâtonnier Stasi human-rights award, a member portal operated via the Assoconnect SaaS platform, online directories of member bars and individual lawyers, the CIB Library digital repository, and the "Défense de la Défense" advocacy program supporting lawyers under threat. Technology is conventional: a WordPress CMS website hosted by OVH, supplemented by social media (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, WhatsApp) and Zoom-based webinars.

CIB's revenue model combines recurring annual membership dues (from bar associations, individual lawyers, law firms, and bar councils), event and congress registration fees, and event/program sponsorship — most visibly from strategic partner Larcier Intersentia. The organization also benefits from institutional support via OIF and project partnerships with bodies such as GIABA and Expertise France. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: member bar associations act as channel partners that relay information and recruit new members at the national level, while direct digital channels (newsletter, website, webinars) target individual lawyers. No revenue, headcount, or funding data is publicly disclosed.

Name

cib

Legal name

Conférence Internationale des Barreaux de tradition juridique commune (CIB)

Website

https://cib-avocats.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CIB (Conférence Internationale des Barreaux) is a Paris-based, French-registered non-profit association founded in 1985 that federates bar associations and lawyers across 42 francophone countries, delivering annual congresses, training, advocacy, and a member portal under the Francophonie institutional framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption (ABAC) (EDABADAA)

Keywords

• Professional bar association
• Legal advocacy network
• International lawyer cooperation
• Francophone legal community
• Legal professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues and subscriptions: CIB generates revenue through annual membership dues paid by bar associations (barreaux), individual lawyers, and law firms. The association is a loi 1901 non-profit organization registered in France (W751138078).
2. Event registration and congress fees: Revenue from registration fees for annual congresses, seminars, webinars, and training events organized by CIB for member bars and individual lawyers.
3. Sponsorship and strategic partnerships: CIB receives support from strategic partners such as Larcier Intersentia who sponsor events like the Prix CIB Bâtonnier Stasi and other association activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CIB is a non-profit professional association coordinating cooperation, training, and advocacy among 76 bar associations from 42 francophone and common-law-tradition countries. It offers annual international congresses, webinars, colloquia, training programs, an international oratory competition, a human rights prize, member directories, and a digital library of legal texts and resolutions. The organization also runs advocacy and solidarity missions for lawyers facing persecution.

Product overview

CIB (Conférence Internationale des Barreaux de tradition juridique commune) is a professional association for French-speaking legal bars representing 42 countries. The organization offers a portfolio of professional services including annual international congresses, webinars, training programs, member directories, and advocacy initiatives. Key offerings include the annual congress series featuring resolutions on legal profession issues, the Concours Monferrier Dorval oratory competition, the Prix CIB Bâtonnier Stasi human rights award, the CIB Library repository of publications and declarations, and the 'Defense of the Defense' program supporting lawyers under threat. The organization also publishes the CIB Newsletter and maintains member access portals for the international legal community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Congress (Congrès annuel) Annual international congress bringing together bars from 42 countries to discuss themes relevant to the legal profession, adopt resolutions, and hold leadership elections; upcoming 40th Congress scheduled for Brazzaville (December 2026).
• Webinars (Webinaires) Online seminars and training sessions covering legal topics such as corporate vigilance obligations, personal data protection, proportionality control, and harmonization of business law, delivered to member lawyers and bar associations.
• Training Programs (Formations) Professional development and continuing education programs for lawyers covering topics like law firm management, OHADA business law governance, and digital transformation in legal practice.
• CIB Library (Bibliothèque) Digital repository containing the organization's publications, congress resolutions, the Bamako Declaration, the Convention of Lawyers of the World, and historical legal documents available to members.
• Member Directories (Annuaires) Online directories of member bar associations and individual lawyers within the CIB network across 42 countries.
• Concours Monferrier Dorval (International Oratory Competition) International public speaking competition for lawyers under 35, named in honor of Bâtonnier Monferrier Dorval, featuring elimination rounds and finals at annual congresses.
• Prix CIB Bâtonnier Stasi (International Human Rights Prize) International human rights award recognizing lawyers, bar associations, or law firms demonstrating remarkable commitment to the defense and promotion of fundamental rights.
• Defense of the Defense (Défense de la Défense) Advocacy program supporting lawyers facing threats, persecution, or violence for performing their professional duties, issuing international alerts and solidarity messages.
• CIB Newsletter (La Lettre de la CIB) Regular electronic and print newsletter providing updates on CIB activities, member news, and developments in the francophone legal community.
• Member Portal (Espace des Membres) Online platform via Assoconnect for member bars and individual lawyers to access exclusive resources, manage membership, register for events, and participate in CIB activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 76 bar associations from 24 countries represented at the 39th Congress in Lomé (December 2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2000CIB is officially recognized as one of the 16 Institutional Networks of the Francophonie (OIF) following the Bamako Plan of Action of October 20, 2002. CIB participates in OIF seminars, co-organizes events, and contributes to the Francophonie's rule of law and democracy promotion agenda. The OIF provides institutional support and recognition to CIB's activities.
• Larcier IntersentiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLarcier Intersentia is identified as the strategic partner of CIB, prominently displayed on the website footer. Larcier Intersentia supports the Prix CIB Bâtonnier Stasi and contributes to the international visibility of this initiative. The partnership provides publishing and legal information infrastructure support to the organization.
• Conseil des Barreaux Européens (CCBE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIB maintains dialogue and partnership with the CCBE (Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe) on matters of common interest including anti-money laundering regulations, professional standards, and the protection of lawyers' rights. A resolution (CIB2014-02) specifically addresses the partnership with CCBE.
• GIABA (Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIB is a partner in the OCWAR-M project led by Expertise France alongside GIABA. CIB participates in GIABA-organized colloquia on anti-money laundering recommendations applicable to the legal profession in ECOWAS member countries, advocating for the protection of professional secrecy and bar self-regulation.
• Expertise FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIB is a partner in the OCWAR-M project (Organised Crime: West African Response to Money Laundering) managed by Expertise France, supporting the application of FATF anti-money laundering recommendations to bar associations in ECOWAS countries.
• AHJUCAF (Association des Hautes Juridictions de Cassation des pays francophones)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIB co-organizes colloquia with AHJUCAF, including the Bucarest 2022 conference on 'The duties of actors of the fair trial for an independent and impartial justice' and participated in AHJUCAF's VIIth Congress in Cotonou (July 2022). These events bring together lawyers and supreme court judges from francophone countries.
• Fédération des Barreaux d'Haïti (FBH)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFBH is a member federation of bar associations in Haiti that participates actively in CIB congresses and activities, organizing national events and relaying CIB information to Haitian lawyers. CIB has issued multiple communiqués in support of FBH regarding threats to the Haitian justice system.
• Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIB maintains a relationship with the UIA, participating in joint events such as the 66th UIA Congress in Dakar (October 2022) and co-organizing seminars on topics of mutual interest including lawyer social protection.
• RIFAV (Réseau International des Femmes Avocates)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIFAV, the International Network of Women Lawyers, partners with CIB on events including the 39th Congress in Lomé (December 2025) and the Pro Bono Prix. RIFAV was recognized by the CIB jury for its work giving voice to detained persons.
• Université Senghor (Université Senghor de la Francophonie)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIB co-sponsors the Diplôme Universitaire 'Prévention et lutte contre la corruption et les infractions économiques et financières' together with Université Senghor and OIF. The diploma was presented at the 39th Congress in Lomé (2025).
• PalantisminorOthersPalantis is the branding studio that designed and developed the CIB website (cib-avocats.org) on the WordPress CMS platform.
• OVHminorOthersOVH is the hosting company for the CIB website. OVH SAS is a French web hosting provider (RCS Lille Métropole 424 761 419 00045) headquartered at 2 rue Kellermann, 59100 Roubaix, France.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Bar Association (IBA): The IBA is the world's largest international legal membership organization, uniting bar associations, law firms, and individual lawyers globally. It overlaps directly with CIB as a convener of bars and lawyers, though IBA operates at a global (largely anglophone-influenced) scale rather than CIB's francophone focus.
• American Bar Association (ABA): The ABA is the largest national bar association in the world with extensive CLE programming, advocacy, and member services for U.S. lawyers. It is comparable in scope of activities (training, publications, congresses, advocacy) but at national scale and anglophone-focused, not francophone.
• Law Society of England and Wales: The Law Society is the professional body representing solicitors in England and Wales, providing regulatory, training, and member services functions analogous to those CIB provides at the international francophone level. Operates at national rather than international scope.

Direct peers

• Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA): UIA is the international association of lawyers, founded in 1927, with a similar mandate of bringing together lawyers across borders through congresses, training, and networking. UIA is already a partner of CIB (co-hosting events in Dakar 2022), and serves a partially overlapping francophone and global legal-professional audience.
• Conseil des Barreaux Européens (CCBE): CCBE represents the bars and law societies of 46 European countries and is the principal EU-level voice of the legal profession on standards, AML, and rule-of-law issues. CIB maintains an ongoing dialogue and resolution-level partnership with CCBE, making it a highly comparable supranational bar-association body.
• Association des Hautes Juridictions de Cassation des pays francophones (AHJUCAF): AHJUCAF brings together supreme courts of francophone jurisdictions — the judicial counterpart to CIB's bar-association network. AHJUCAF co-organizes colloquia with CIB (Buchau 2022, Cotonou 2022), operates a similar francophone-membership model, and serves the same institutional Francophonie ecosystem.
• Fédération Interaméricaine des Barreaux (FIB): FIB is a continental bar-association federation representing bars across the Western Hemisphere. It is structurally analogous to CIB as a regional bar federation but operates in the Americas with a Spanish/Portuguese linguistic focus rather than francophone.
• Réseau International des Femmes Avocates (RIFAV): RIFAV is the international francophone network of women lawyers, partnering with CIB on congresses and the Pro Bono Prix. It operates as a thematic professional network for lawyers using the same francophone association model and reaches overlapping individual-lawyer audiences.

Regional players

• Conseil National des Barreaux (CNB): CNB is the national body representing all French avocats and French bar associations in France. It operates at a national scale rather than CIB's international francophone scope, but is a comparable membership/trade body for lawyers and engages with CIB on overlapping topics (e.g., 2026 Convention Nationale des Avocats).
• Ordre des Avocats de Paris: The Paris Bar is a member bar of CIB and a leading individual bar association for lawyers in France. Comparable as a provider of training and member services, but at a single-city scale rather than CIB's international scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CiBarreaux
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCiqZBErKHq9FiCffvw8vNQ/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/CIBarreaux
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/conf%C3%A9rence-internationale-des-barreaux-de-tradition-juridique-commune-cib

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about cib