The Governing Council welcomed the new President of UNIDROIT, Professor Berardino LIBONATI (University of Rome "La Sapienza") on his taking office as President of UNIDROIT.
The Governing Council confirmed by consensus the appointment of Dr Walter RODINÒ as Deputy Secretary General of UNIDROIT.
The Council appointed the following new correspondents:
The Governing Council also thanked those States which in 1999 supplied or renewed their voluntary support of the UNIDROIT Research Scholarships Programme: France (since 1993), the Republic of Korea (since 1997) and Finland (for the first time) (cf. infra under "UNIDROIT Research Scholarships Programme").
International Interests in Mobile Equipment - The Council took note of the information supplied by the Secretariat concluding that the texts of the preliminary draft Convention and the preliminary draft Protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment are now ripe to be submitted to a diplomatic Conference. The Council authorised the Secretariat:
Model law on franchising - The Council took note of the draft produced by the Study Group at its last meeting. It discussed again the issue of whether the model law should extend to areas beyond disclosure requirements and the consequences of insufficient disclosure. The Council expressed its preference for a model law which was not wider in scope. It recommended that, after a final reading at a meeting of the Study Group to be convened in December 2000, in Rome, the draft be transmitted to a Committee of Governmental Experts.
UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts - The Council took note of the information supplied by the Secretariat as to the progress of work on Part II of the Principles. Several members of the Council brought the use of the Principles within the context of domestic law reform in their respective countries to the Council's attention.
Transnational rules of civil procedure - The Council had included this item, on the basis of the recommendations by Professor Rolf STÜRNER (University of Freiburg, Germany), as a joint venture to be carried out in co-operation with the American Law Institute (ALI) in the UNIDROIT Work Programme. The Council took note of the information supplied by the Secretariat as to the composition of the Study Group and the first working session scheduled for 22-26 May 2000.*
Uniform Rules Applicable to Transport - Taking note of a report on various current activities submitted by Mr. PUTZEYS, and in the light of limited resources and defined priorities, the Council gladly accepted Mr. Putzeys' offer that he attend relevant meetings and report back to the Council as he deems fit.
Capital Markets Law - The Council took note of an outline of a number of problem areas of transactions on transnational capital markets supplied by the Secretariat. Council members recommended that, following final consultations with stock exchanges, regulators, investment banks as well as the bar in key countries, a Study Group be set up without further delay.
INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS
The Governing Council took note with satisfaction of the arrival at UNIDROIT of Mr Alexandre de Fontmichel (PhD Candidate, Paris II; assistant lecturer at the Universities of Paris II and V), who has been placed at the Secretariat's disposal by the French Government in lieu of military service for a period of sixteen months. The Council expressed its gratitude to the French Government for this form of support, which has been made available since 1995.
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY
- to make arrangements for the holding of a diplomatic Conference, in accordance with UNIDROIT rules of procedure, as early as practicable in 2001, for the purpose of concluding a Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and an Aircraft Protocol to that Convention;
- to proceed on the basis of the texts annexed to the Report of the Drafting Committee of the Third Joint Session of the UNIDROIT Committee of Governmental Experts and the ICAO Legal Sub-Committee in Rome on 30 March 2000;
- to conclude arrangements with the Government of South Africa or, failing this, the Government of Ireland or another interested Government to host the diplomatic Conference;
- to invite the Council of ICAO to approve the continued collaboration of ICAO in this project, on the basis set out above, in relation to aircraft objects, whether as co-sponsor of the diplomatic Conference or in some other capacity, particularly in relation to matters concerning the registration system and the potential role of ICAO as the Supervisory Authority for the aircraft objects registration system;
- to convene, as early as practicable, in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), a meeting of a committee of govern-mental experts for a first reading of the preliminary draft Railway Rolling Stock Protocol.
I. THIRD SESSION OF THE WORKING GROUP
The third session of the Working Group for the preparation Part II of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts was held in Cairo, Egypt from 24 to 27 January 2000.
The session was attended by M.J. BONELL (UNIDROIT, Chairman), L.O. BAPTISTA (Brazil), P.-A. CRÉPEAU (Canada), S.K. DATE BAH (Ghana), A. EL KHOLY (Egypt), E.A. FARNSWORTH (U.S.A.), P. FINN (Australia), M. FONTAINE (Belgium), M. FURMSTON (United Kingdom), A. HARTKAMP (Netherlands), HUANG DANHAN (China), C. JAUFFRET-SPINOSI (France), A. KOMAROV (Russian Federation), P. SCHLECHTRIEM (Germany) and T. UCHIDA (Japan). F. DESSEMONTET (Swiss Association of Arbitration), H. GRIGERA NAÓN (ICC Court of Arbitration), G. HERRMANN (UNCITRAL) and G. SCHIAVONI (Milan Italian and International Chamber of Arbitration) attended as observers. The session was also attended by H. KRONKE (Secretary-General of UNIDROIT).
The session focused mainly on the draft Chapter on Limitation of Actions by Prescription prepared by P. SCHLECHTRIEM (UNIDROIT Study L - Doc. 64) and the draft Chapter on Assignment of Rights, Transfer of Duties and Assignment of Contracts, Section 1: Assignment of Rights prepared by M. FONTAINE (UNIDROIT Study L - Doc. 65). The Group also considered the revised draft Chapter on Authority of Agents prepared by M.J. BONELL (UNIDROIT Study L - Doc. 63) and the draft Chapter on Third Party Rights prepared by M. FURMSTON (UNIDROIT Study L - Doc. 66). After an extensive discussion the Group, while basically agreeing on the general structure and substance of the drafts, decided on a number of amendments and asked the Rapporteurs to prepare revised drafts for the next session.
The next session of the Working Group will be held in Rome (Italy) in the summer of 2001.
II. EXPRESS REFERENCE TO THE UNIDROIT PRINCIPLES IN MODEL CONTRACTS PREPARED BY INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
It is worth noting that the UNIDROIT Principles, which are becoming an essential point of reference in the drafting of relevant provisions of international instruments, especially those of a non-binding character, were expressly referred to in the framework of the applicable law clause of the following texts:
- ICC Model Occasional Intermediary Contract (non-circumvention & non-disclosure agreement) - publication ICC no. 619, 2000 - according to which (Article 13(1):
"Unless otherwise agreed in writing […], any questions relating to this NCND Agreement shall be governed by the rules and principles of law generally recognised in international trade as applicable to international contracts with occasional intermediaries together with the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts."- the Model Contract for the International Commercial Sale of Perishable Goods issued by the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO in 1999 which in Article 14 (Applicable Law) expressly provides that:
"[i]n so far as any matters are not covered by the foregoing provisions, this Contract is governed by the following, in descending order of precedence: The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, and for matters not dealt with in the above-mentioned texts, the law applicable at […] or, in the absence of a choice of law, the law applicable at the Seller's place of business through which this Contract is to be performed."
III. SEMINARS AND COLLOQUIA ON THE UNIDROIT PRINCIPLES
International Commercial Arbitration Seminar - Cairo (Egypt), 28 January 2000
On the occasion of the session of the Working Group on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts held in Cairo in January 2000, the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration organised an "International Commercial Arbitration Seminar". The Seminar, which was held on 28 January 2000 at the Cairo Sheraton Hotel, was mainly devoted to the use of the UNIDROIT Principles in international commercial contract practice and arbitration, with special attention to North Africa and the Middle East.After welcome addresses by Mr H. KRONKE, Secretary General of UNIDROIT, and Mr M. ABOUL-ENEIN, Director of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, Mr H. SAREY EL DIN, presented the Arabic version of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts prepared by the Shalakany Law Office under the direction of Mr Ali EL SHALAKANY. Subsequently papers were presented by Mr M.J. BONELL on "The UNIDROIT Principles: Origin, Nature and First Practical Experiences"; Mr M. FONTAINE on "The UNIDROIT Principles: A Guide for Drafting International Commercial Contracts"; M. E.A. FARNSWORTH on "The UNIDROIT Principles and International Commercial Arbitration"; Mr M. FURMSTON on "The UNIDROIT Principles as the Rules Governing the Contract"; and Mr H. GRIGERA NAÓN on "The Application of the UNIDROIT Principles within the ICC Court of Arbitration".
The second part of the Seminar focused on selected topics of the law of arbitration. Papers were presented by Mr G. HERRMANN on "The Role of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law in International Commercial Arbitration"; Mr M. ABOUL-ENEIN and Mr A. EL AHDAB on "The Development of International Commercial Arbitration Laws in the Arab World"; Mr S. EL SHARKAWY and Mr H. HADDAD on "The Arbitration Agreement"; Mr A. AL KHOSHERY and Mr A. EL KHOLY on " The Applicable Law on Arbitration"; and Mr A. EL SAWI on "The Enforcement of Foreign Awards in the Arab Region". Communications were also made by Mr K. BAELZ on "Bargaining in the Shadow of Arbitration in Construction Cases"; and Mr D. OTTO on "Default in International Arbitration". Concluding Remarks were made by Mr H. KRONKE.
The Seminar was attended by some two hundred participants - mainly lawyers and academics - from all parts of the region who followed the session with greatest interest and actively participated in the brief discussion following each presentation.
Colloquium on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts - Lisbon, 14 April 2000
On the occasion of the 79th session of the UNIDROIT Governing Council held in Lisbon in April 2000, a Colloquium on "The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts" was held on 14 April 2000 at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.The Colloquium, attended by a large number of lawyers, judges and academics, opened with introductory addresses by Mr B. LIBONATI, President of UNIDROIT, who briefly described the most recent achievements of the Institute in the field of international unification, and by Ms I. DE MAGALHÃES COLLAÇO, Member of the UNIDROIT Governing Council, who presented the provisional Portuguese translation of the integral version of the UNIDROIT Principles prepared under her direction by the Ministry of Justice. Subsequently papers were presented by Mr. M.J. BONELL on "The UNIDROIT Principles: Nature, Purposes and First Practical Experiences"; Ms RIBEIRO MENDES on "Mistake, Fraud and Threat: The UNIDROIT Principles and the Portuguese Law"; Sir Roy GOODE on "The Concept of Mandatory Provisions in Non-binding Principles"; Mr P. PAIS DE VASCONCELOS on "Interpretation of the Contract: The UNIDROIT Principles and the Portuguese Law"; Mr A.S. HARTKAMP on "The UNIDROIT Principles and the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods"; Mr C. FERREIRA DE ALMEIDA on "Content of the Contract: The UNIDROIT Principles and the Portuguese Law"; Mr H. KRONKE on "The UNIDROIT Principles and International Arbitration"; and Mr J. CALVÃO DA SILVA on "Non-performance: The UNIDROIT Principles and the Portuguese Law".
The Colloquium provided an excellent opportunity for a fruitful exchange of views between some of the drafters of the UNIDROIT Principles and the Portuguese legal community: the comparison between the UNIDROIT Principles and Portuguese law revealed many convergences and only few points of real contrast.
Since the last report on this area of the Institute's work (see Unidroit News 1999-3), considerable progress has been achieved across the entire range of these activities.
I. DRAFT CONVENTION AND DRAFT AIRCRAFT PROTOCOL
The Joint Session of the UNIDROIT Committee of governmental experts for the preparation of a draft Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and a draft Protocol thereto on Matters specific to Aircraft Equipment and of the Sub-Committee of the ICAO Legal Committee on the study of international interests in mobile equipment (aircraft equipment) completed its work at a third session held in Rome from 20 to 31 March 2000. With the exception of one issue, it was able to reach consensus on the texts of the preliminary draft Convention and the preliminary draft Aircraft Protocol. These texts were submitted for approval to the UNIDROIT Governing Council at its 79th session, held in Lisbon from 10 to 15 April 2000, on which occasion, after approving them as a draft Convention and draft Protocol respectively, the Council authorised the Secretariat to make the necessary arrangements for the convening of a diplomatic Conference for their adoption. It is envisaged that this Conference will be held in the first half of 2001.
The most significant amendment agreed upon during the Third Joint Session consisted in a restriction of the substantive sphere of application of the draft Convention, essentially agreed upon with a view to facilitating the inclusion in the draft Convention under preparation by UNCITRAL on Assignment in Receivables Financing of a clause excluding from the sphere of application of that instrument those receivables that become associated rights in connection with the financing of the categories of equipment covered by the draft UNIDROIT Convention. The view had been expressed by the observer from UNCITRAL that such an exclusion was unlikely to be agreed upon so long as the sphere of application of the draft UNIDROIT Convention was seen to remain open-ended. Henceforth the latter applies only to airframes, aircraft engines and helicopters, railway rolling stock and space property (cf. Article 2(3)). It should be noted however that the draft UNIDROIT Convention preserves the possibility for UNIDROIT to create working groups to determine the feasibility of extending its application to other categories of high-value mobile equipment (cf. Article U(1)).
The one issue which it proved impossible to resolve completely at the Third Joint Session concerned the assignment-related provisions of the draft Convention / Aircraft Protocol. During the session three delegations were invited to develop proposals designed to bring these provisions more into line with those national legal systems under which an assignment of associated rights would carry with it the interest securing those rights. A proposal made up of two alternatives was tabled as a result but it did not prove possible in the time left to complete consideration thereof. Substantial support was nevertheless registered for the approach taken in the proposal and it was agreed that the alternatives should be given further careful study by experts. It is the intention to organise a restricted meeting of experts drawn from the delegations of the Governments that demonstrated particular interest in the problem in order to complete the work on this subject left unfinished at the Third Joint Session and to enable the diplomatic Conference to have before it a single text representing consensus. It is hoped to convene this meeting in Autumn 2000.
II. PRELIMINARY DRAFT RAIL PROTOCOL
The text of a preliminary draft Protocol to the draft Convention on Matters specific to Railway Rolling Stock was communicated on 4 February 2000 to UNIDROIT by Mr Howard ROSEN, co-ordinator of the Rail Working Group. In accordance with the decision taken by the UNIDROIT Governing Council at its 78th session, held in Rome from 12 to 16 April 1999, it was laid before a Steering and Revisions Committee, chaired by Mr Roland LOEWE (Austria), member of the Governing Council. The business of this Committee, which met in Rome on 16 and 17 March 2000, was in particular to consider the compatibility and consistency of the preliminary draft Protocol with the draft Convention. The preliminary draft Protocol as thus amended by the Committee was submitted to the Governing Council at its 79th session with a view to that body deciding on the next step to be accomplished in this connection. In the event the Council decided that the text was ready to be transmitted to Governments with a view to the preparation of a draft Protocol. The Council agreed that this intergovernmental consultation process should be conducted by UNIDROIT in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (O.T.I.F.).
III. PRELIMINARY DRAFT SPACE PROPERTY PROTOCOL
The latest working draft of the preliminary draft Protocol to the draft Convention on Matters specific to Space Property, prepared by Mr Peter D. NESGOS, co-ordinator of the Space Working Group in January 2000, has been considered at a number of gatherings held at both national and international level. First, it was considered at a workshop organised in London on 27 January 2000 in conjunction with the Annual Space and Satellite Finance Conference, entitled Protecting security interests in satellites: will international uniformity facilitate satellite financing? This workshop gave space financiers an opportunity to comment on the significance of the preliminary draft Protocol for the practical problems that they faced in this field. The moderator of the proceedings was Mr Martin STANFORD (UNIDROIT); the speakers included Sir Roy GOODE, member of the UNIDROIT Governing Council, Mr NESGOS and Mr Gabriel LAFFERRANDERIE (European Space Agency).
Secondly, it was the subject of a meeting organised in Paris on 8 February 2000 by the Space and Aeronautics Department of the French Ministry of Education, Research and Technology. The meeting, chaired by Ms Elda GARROUSTE of the French Centre for Space Studies (C.N.E.S.), was organised to bring together experts involved in both UNIDROIT's work on the preparation of a preliminary draft Space Property Protocol (both Mr Stanford and Mr Nesgos were speakers) and in that Ministry's Space Law Working Group looking into the question of the taking of security in space assets. The meeting also heard from Mr Olivier TELL, of the French Ministry of Justice, head of the French Government's delegation to the Joint Session.
Thirdly, it was the subject of a presentation made by Mr STANFORD at an informal briefing organised in Vienna on 17 March 2000 for the Permanent Missions to the United Nations Offices in Vienna. This briefing was preparatory to the presentation made by Mr Stanford to the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) at its 39th session, held in Vienna from 27 March to 7 April 2000. In his presentation Mr Stanford called upon members of the Legal Subcommittee to include consideration of the draft Convention and the preliminary draft Space Property Protocol as a single issue discussion item at the 40th session of the Legal Subcommittee, to be held in Vienna from 2 to 12 April 2001. The idea behind his proposal was to enable that body, responsible to date for the development of international space law, to consider the coherence of the proposed new international regimen for the taking of security in space property with the existing corpus of international space law and in particular to focus on the relationship between the proposed International Registry for space property and the existing United Nations register of space objects established under the 1975 Convention on the Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space. While considerable support was expressed for his proposal, it was agreed that it would be best to defer a decision until the 43rd session of COPUOS itself, to be held in Vienna from 7 to 16 June 2000.
The preliminary draft Space Property Protocol will also be the subject of discussion at the American Bar Association Forum on Air and Space Law, being held in Montreal on 3 and 4 August 2000 and at the Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, being held in Rio de Janeiro from 2 to 6 October 2000.
Through all these meetings it is the intention of UNIDROIT to enhance awareness of the practical importance of the preliminary draft Protocol to a point where it will be ready for submission to the Governing Council with a view to transmission to Governments. It is the view of UNIDROIT that it is especially important in this process first to secure the agreement of the Legal Subcommittee as to the coherence of the preliminary draft Protocol with the existing body of international space law, in particular in view of the role that the United Nations could well play in the establishment of the proposed International Registry for space property. To this end UNIDROIT is planning to organise in October 2000 back-to-back meetings of an informal restricted group of experts (from the interested international Organisations and some of the leading Governments in this field) and the Space Working Group to prepare the ground which it is proposing should be covered by the Legal Subcommittee in April 2001.
The first session of the Working Group for the Preparation of Transnational Rules of Civil Procedure, set up jointly by UNIDROIT and the American Law Institute (ALI), was held at the UNIDROIT headquarters in Rome from 22 to 26 May 2000. The session was chaired by Mr Ronald T. NHLAPO (South African Law Commission; Member of the Governing Council of UNIDROIT) and was attended by all members of the Working Group: Mr Neil ANDREWS (Cambridge University, UK), Ms Aida R. KEMELMAJER DE CARLUCCI (Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza, Argentina), Ms Frédérique FERRAND (Université Jean Moulin, Lyons, France), Mr Geoffrey C. HAZARD Jr. (University of Pennsylvania Law School; former Director of ALI), Mr Masanori KAWANO (Nagoya University, School of Law, Japan), Mr Pierre LALIVE (Lalive & Associés and Geneva University, Switzerland), Mr Rolf STÜRNER (Freiburg University, Germany) and Mr Michele TARUFFO (Pavia University, Italy). The session was also attended by Mr A. GIDI (ALI) who was appointed Secretary to the Group. The UNIDROIT Secretariat was represented by Mr H. KRONKE and Mr M.J. BONELL.
The session was opened by Mr B. LIBONATI, President of UNIDROIT, who emphasised the importance of the project and the fact that it was the first time that the Institute had undertaken a joint venture with such a prestigious institution as the American Law Institute. On his part, Mr L. LIEBMAN (Columbia University School of Law; Director of ALI) confirmed ALI's great interest in the project: having already attracted the attention of the legal community both in the United States and abroad, thanks to the envisaged UNIDROIT/ALI co-operation it is expected to result in a truly international and much needed instrument.
The session mainly focused on a working paper containing a set of general principles of civil procedure prepared by Mr STÜRNER, and on Mr HAZARD's and Mr TARUFFO's preliminary draft on Transnational Rules of Civil Procedure. Not surprisingly, given the ambitious nature of the project, the Group was unable immediately to reach agreement on all issues discussed. This first exchange of views was however generally felt to be extremely profitable, and the Rapporteurs were asked to prepare a new draft to be further discussed at the Group's second session which will be held in July 2001 in Rome.
The Convention was ratified by Italy on 11 October 1999 (entry into force: 1 April 2000) and now has twelve Contracting States: Bolivia, Brazil, China, El Salvador, Ecuador, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Paraguay, Peru and Romania. [status report]
Ratification procedures have been completed by Portugal and Croatia, and both these countries are expected shortly to deposit their instruments of ratification with the Italian Government, the depositary of the Convention. Other States are currently engaged upon ratification or accession procedures. The UK House of Commons has set up a parliamentary Select Committee to report on illicit traffic in cultural objects in the Kingdom. One of its tasks is to prepare an opinion on whether or not to accede to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention (this in response to the Government's decision not to accede to these Conventions announced in February 2000, which provoked heated reactions) and, if not, to propose other ways of dealing with the problem. The Committee is currently taking evidence from a wide range of actors on the art market and the reports of its hearings are accessible on the House of Commons website at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmcumeds.htm. The UK Departement for Culture has just set up a Panel with the same brief as the Select Committee. It will make public its findings at end-November 2000.
The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention continues to spark much doctrinal debate on the part of legal scholars (cf. the Uniform Law Bibliography in Uniform Law Review 2000-2, p. 411.) at both national and international symposia (cf. "Congresses & Colloquia" below), and it is at the root of revived interest in the principle of protection of cultural objects, especially in the concept of "diligence" required of the buyer. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Council for the Prevention of Art Theft (CoPAT) has established two "codes of due diligence" intended for auctioneers and dealers.
Several international organisations, both inter-governmental and non-governmental, have underscored the significance of the UNIDROIT Convention and invited their member States to become Parties to it or asked their members to recommend that their States do so. Thus, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 54/190 at its 54th session in December 1999 in respect of the return or restitution of cultural properties to the countries of origin, in which it reaffirms the importance of the provisions of the UNIDROIT Convention and invites those member States that have not yet done so to envisage becoming Parties to it (cf. the text of the Resolution in Uniform Law Review 2000-2, p. 308 et seq.). The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has likewise adopted a Recommendation along similar lines (Recommendation 1372 of 1998) (cf. text of the Recommendation in Uniform Law Review 2000-2, p. 314 et seq.) and its Resolution 1205 (1999) on confiscated Jewish cultural property links the concept of "diligence" with the UNIDROIT Convention (Official Gazette of the Council of Europe - November 1999). The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has pledged to "do its utmost to promote the UNIDROIT Convention at the political level and to help implement its provisions on a step-by-step basis (cf. the text of the reply from the Committee of Ministers Uniform Law Review 2000-2, p. 316). Finally, the General Assembly of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has adopted several resolutions in favour of the Convention, the most recent being its Resolution N° 4 adopted in Melbourne (1998) (cf. website at www.icom.org/resolutions/eres98.html).
Joint National Seminar Sponsored by the Ministry of Justice of the Arab Republic of Egypt and UNIDROIT, Cairo, 29 January 2000 - under the auspices of H.E. Counsellor Farouk SEIF EL NASR, Minister of Justice
The Egyptian rapporteurs for their part were critical of the UNIDROIT Convention which they felt did not go far enough to ensure adequate protection for their country's heritage: Counsellor Hisham SARYA, First Prosecutor General and consultant to the Department of Antiquities, and Counsellor Boulos FAHMI, First Prosecutor General for the protection of public funds, argued that the Convention fell short of the solutions proposed in Egyptian law. Professor Salah Abdel BADII SHALABI (international law, Shariaa and Law Faculty) also expressed regret that the Convention offered too little protection to countries which have been the victims of despoliation for centuries. On the whole, the discussion provided evidence that opinions were fairly evenly balanced, with the Convention's supporters pointing out that the current situation, which would continue unchanged without the Convention, was itself anything but satisfactory.
The second session, chaired by Professor Ahmed Sadek EL-KOSHERI, President of the International University for African Development, dealt with the draft UNIDROIT Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and its future Protocols. The subject was introduced by Professor Herbert KRONKE, Secretary General of UNIDROIT, who highlighted the innovative aspects of the proposed instruments, both from a technical and a legal standpoint, and their economic impact on inter-national interests in high-value mobile equipment in the different sectors concerned - i.e., the aviation sector (Aircraft Protocol) and the space and rail sectors (Space Protocol and Rail Protocol, still under preparation). The next speakers were Professors Borham ATTALAH (civil law, Universities of Alexandria and Paris) and Hossam LOUTFI (civil law, Beni-Souef University), who compared specific solutions of the draft Convention to Egypt's domestic law in the matter. An Arab version of the draft Convention and draft Aircraft Protocol had been prepared for the occasion. The ensuing debate evidenced great public interest in the subject, with several speakers, including a number of international lawyers, affirming that the new instruments were likely to have a considerable impact on the development of international trade.
Between the first and second sessions, H.E. Counsellor Farouik SEIF EL NASR, Minister of Justice, received the UNIDROIT representatives singly and conferred honours on each.
Seminar on "The Uniform Law and the Commercial and Financial Conventions of UNIDROIT: The Mexican Challenge", organised by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute for Legal Studies of the Universidad Autónoma Nacional de México - Mexico D.F., 6-8 November 2000, and by the Mexican Academy of International Private and Comparative Law together with Colima University at Manzanillo (Colima), 9-10 November 2000. This meeting will focus on: the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, leasing, factoring and international franchising, and international capital markets. Speakers will include members of the UNIDROIT Secretariat as well as foreign invited experts and Mexican rapporteurs.
The first session, chaired by the H.E. Counsellor Maher ABDEL WAHED, Attorney General, was dedicated to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on the Restitution of Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. M. Walter RODINÒ, Deputy Secretary General of UNIDROIT, presented a tour d'horizon of the Convention, highlighting the work that had gone into crafting a workable compromise to satisfy both those who favour maximum protection of the original owners of cultural objects and those looking for more limited protection of such objects in favour of the purchaser. He particularly stressed the fact that while the instrument did not purport to remedy situations that had arisen prior to the adoption of the Convention by the Contracting States, neither did it prevent States from making bilateral settlements; indeed, it might even encourage them if ratified by a sufficient number of States.
Seminars and colloquia on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts or in connection with International Interests in Mobile Equipment: cf. supra, under Implementation of Work Programme.
I. REPORT ON THE RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS PROGRAMME - SEVEN YEARS IN BRIEF
Created in 1993, the Research Scholarships Programme for lawyers from developing countries or countries in economic transition has just completed its first seven years' operation. During that time, 71 beneficiaries from 36 countries carried out top-level research in the UNIDROIT Library (supervised by a research director in their country of origin). The Programme is super-intended by the Scholarships Sub-committee of the Governing Council. The Secretariat presents an annual report to the Sub-committee on the state of implementation of the Programme, as well as the research reports prepared by that year's beneficiaries. The Sub-committee examines applications and establishes priorities on the basis of available funding. The Secretariat provides logistical and methodological assistance, while the Library's bibliographical resources form the academic backbone of the Programme.
The Programme is financed largely by outside donors (75%); these grants are used in full to cover the visiting scholars' cost of living expenditure and - where absolutely indispensable - their travel costs, and by UNIDROIT.
From the visiting scholars' point of view, the Programme's merits are amply illustrated by the results of a survey carried out in early 2000. There is conclusive evidence that the Programme offers suitable research facilities (research projects are approved beforehand by the Scholarships Committee), in the light of their prospective use; in most cases, projects are intended as input for university teaching courses, articles or monographs, and to assist in the drafting of legislative proposals by the competent national authorities. At times they also serve a more obviously personal purpose - albeit purely incidentally - such as the preparation of a dissertation or thesis, or are used in a private practice. Beneficiaries have on occasion had access to other renowned European institutions, such as the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, with which UNIDROIT has a co-operation agreement.
The Research Scholarships Programme has also yielded tangible results for UNIDROIT itself. In many cases, scholars find themselves cast in the role of spokesmen for the Institute in their own countries. Examples of such tangible offshoots are the translation (and publication) of UNIDROIT instruments into languages other than the official Institute languages, assistance in promoting institutional and scientific relations in the member States or, in the case of non member States, with the organisation of UNIDROIT meetings and seminars in loco and, finally, contributions to the Uniform Law Review.
At its 79th session in Lisbon from 10-14 April 2000, the Governing Council expressed its conviction that the time had come for UNIDROIT to put its full weight behind the Research Scholarships Programme with a view to reaffirming the Institute's role as a research centre. In addition to the advantages of the Programme set out above, it stressed:
The Governing Council decided to propose to the competent financial bodies of the Institute to increase the general budget allocation for the Programme. It reiterated its gratitude to the donors, expressing the hope that they would agree to main - or even step up - their commitment in the years to come and that they would be joined by potential new sponsors in the near future.
II. CALL FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS PROGRAMME
- the key role played by information and training in achieving the objectives of harmonisation and unification pursued by an Organisation as small as Unidroit, much of whose work is in the realm of "soft" or non-binding law;
- the existence at UNIDROIT of a remarkable body of documentation which is quite costly to maintain and which deserves to be more intensively used;
- the opportunity given to visiting scholars to attend working group meetings and international negotiating sessions and to meet experts and other researchers from the four corners of the globe;
- the fact that visiting scholars are potentially future scientific and/or institutional contacts for the Institute, and that much depends on the quality of their reception by the Institute.
The 12th edition of the Digest of Legal Activities of International Organisations and other Institutions, edited by Paula HOWARTH of the UNIDROIT Secretariat and marketed by Oceana Publications Inc. appeared in April 2000. This new edition provides a survey of the legal activities carried out by 26 international organisations and other institutions, including the Council of Europe, the European Community, the Institute of International Law, the International Law Association, the International Law Commission of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, the World Customs Organization, and World Intellectual Property Organization.
The branches of law affected by their work are numerous and include, among others, private international and public law, company law, consumer law, international trade law, copyright and industrial property, family law.
A subject index, together with three lists - one containing the names and addresses of the organisations whose legal activities are covered by the Digest, another of keywords indicating their legal activities, useful as a guide to the various entries, and a third containing initials and acronyms employed in the Digest - allow fast and easy access to important information.
* For a full list of the members of the Study Group, cf. infra, Transnational Rules of Civil Procedure (under Implementation of Work Programme). [Back to text]