20 participants in the International Programme for Law and Development of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (IPLD – UNIDROIT), financed by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (DGCS/MAECI), welcomed in Rome.
Rome, 17 June 2024 – the UNIDROIT International Programme for Law and Development began in Rome at the historic headquarters of Villa Aldobrandini. The initiative brings together 20 judges, public prosecutors and senior legislative drafters from 17 African countries. Supported by the General Directorate for Development Cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (DGCS/MAECI), the programme aims to raise awareness on the UNIDROIT legal instruments and activities of unification of international private and commercial law, which encourage knowledge sharing between different legal cultures and promote an exchange that is able to strengthen peaceful relations between States and communities.
After an online phase which took place from 6 to 15 June, the programme will continue in person until 5 July, with workshops seminars and practical sessions by experts in the field of private international law. The inaugural meeting was attended by numerous diplomatic missions in Rome, not only from the 65 UNIDROIT member states, including ambassadors of several African countries, as well as representatives of international organisations.
Maria Chiara Malaguti, President of UNIDROIT, welcomed the participants by declaring: “This year also promises to be an excellent programme, given the very high quality of the participants and the roles they hold in their countries. I am confident they will also be able to establish strong ties, so as to reinforce the existing network of experts from the different countries of the African continent and spread the use and awareness of our organisation’s legal unification tools”.
Ignacio Tirado, Secretary General of UNIDROIT, underlined: “Africa is a strategic target for UNIDROIT. It is a region full of dynamism and potential, where strong private law frameworks can make a difference and facilitate steady, sustainable economic growth. We can help, we can make a difference. We welcome with open arms a new batch of African jurists, whom we hope to turn into UNIDROIT ambassadors”.
Anna Veneziano, Deputy Secretary-General of UNIDROIT, expressed her enthusiasm in hosting the third edition of the International Programme for Law and Development dedicated to African judges: “We wish to express our gratitude for the continued support and interest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Italian Cooperation, the Directorate for Development Cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation, which we hope will extend to future editions of this important programme.”
Marco Giungi, Plenipotentiary Minister and Head of Unit for Global Processes and International Organizations of the DGCS-MAECI, brought the greetings of the Deputy Minister Hon. Edmondo Cirielli, declaring: “Italy strongly supports all efforts towards unification of private law and is proud to host and support the International Programme for Law and Development, which has been running successfully for three years now.”
The Grand Opening concluded with an introductory seminar on the role of transnational law and unification. Over the next three weeks, participants will work with external legal experts and internal experts from UNIDROIT, engaging in discussions on the Institute’s legal instruments and an exchange of experiences aimed at fostering international cooperation on legal issues.
For information: IPLD@unidroit.org
Professor Iacopo Donati is the UNIDROIT/Bank of Italy Chair Holder and is mainly responsible for assisting in the Bank Insolvency project. He is Professor of Corporate and Insolvency Law at the University of Siena, and coordinates the research project ‘Pro.Re.Ba.’ (Proportionating rules on bank crisis prevention and management to the case of retail banks), which has received funding from the Italian Ministry of University. He has previously taught corporate law at the University of Venice ‘Ca’ Foscari’, at the University of Florence and at the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’.
rtered Institute of Arbitrators (London). He further holds a post-graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law. Allan is also a scholar from the Hague Academy of International Law.
rofessor Ignacio Tirado was appointed Secretary-General by the Governing Council at its 97th session, and officially took office on 27 August 2018. A national of Spain, Professor Tirado (Commercial, Corporate and Insolvency Law, Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, Spain) holds a PhD from the Universities of Bologna and Autónoma de Madrid and an LLM from the University of London. Professor Tirado has been a Senior Legal Consultant at the World Bank’s Legal Vice-Presidency and Financial Sector Practice for more than nine years, having also consulted for the IMF on insolvency related matters as well as for the Asian Development Bank on commercial legal reform.
A Swedish national, Ms Lena Peters grew up in Italy where she attended an English school. In 1978 she took her Juris Kandidatexamen at Stockholm University followed by a Master of Laws from King’s College, London (1979). Since 1985 she has been with UNIDROIT, first as Research Officer, lastly as Principal Legal Officer, her main duties being Secretary to the Working Group for the Preparation of Principles of International Commercial Contracts, Secretary to the Study Group on Franchising, Secretary to the Committee of Governmental Experts on Franchising.She also collaborated on the project for the preparation of the ELI-Unidroit Model European Rules of Civil Procedure. She is currently Managing Editor of the Uniform Law Review and responsible for publications at UNIDROIT.
Marina Schneider is Principal Legal Officer and Treaty Depositary at UNIDROIT. She studied law at the University of Strasbourg (France) and Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne. She joined the UNIDROIT in 1987 and was involved in the elaboration and French versions of most UNIDROIT instruments since. She is in charge of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects and of the UNESCO-UNIDROIT Model Provisions on State Ownership of Undiscovered Cultural Objects. She is the author of the Explanatory Report of the 1995 Convention and many articles on the Convention and other international instruments in the field. Ms Schneider is also responsible for the project on private collections and for the UNIDROIT Convention Academic Project (UCAP). She is member of the Board of the International Society for Research on Art and Cultural Heritage Law (ISCHAL).
Professor of Commercial Law, Carlos III University of Madrid. Currently, Sir Roy Goode Scholar at UNIDROIT, Rome, 2021-2022. Chair of Excellence 2017-2018 at University of Oxford (Uc3m- Santander Program), affiliated to Harris Manchester College. Previously Distinguished Visiting Professor and fellow of a number of Academic Institutions. Arbitrator of Madrid Court of Arbitration. Member of ELI (European Law Institute) Council and Executive Committee. Member of the Expert Group of the European Commission on Liability and New Technologies and member of the Expert Group of the European Observatory of Platform Economy; the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law; the expert group of the Inclusive Global Legal Innovation Platform for Online Dispute Resolution – UNCITRAL and Hong Kong Department of Justice. Expert of the UNIDROIT Study Group on the MAC Protocol of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests. Delegate of Spain to UNIDROIT for the adoption of the Protocol, delegate of Spain in Working Group VI of UNCITRAL on secured transactions and in Working Group IV on Electronic Commerce. Member of UNIDROIT Working Groups on Enforcement and Warehouse Receipts.
William Brydie-Watson is an Australian lawyer who specialises in secured transactions law and private international law. Before joining UNIDROIT, William was a government lawyer in the Private International Law and International Arbitration section of the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, where he worked primarily on treaty negotiation and the implementation of private international law treaties in Australia. At UNIDROIT, he is primarily responsible for the implementation of the Mining, Agriculture and Construction (MAC Protocol) to the 2001 Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the development of a Model Law on Factoring. William also serves as UNIDROIT’s liaison with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and as manager of the Institute’s Scholarship and Internship Programme. Admitted to practice in New South Wales and the High Court of Australia, he has a Bachelor of Arts (honours), a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws from the Australian National University. William also lectures on International Secured Transactions Law at the Eotvos Lorand Faculty of Law in Budapest.