Overview
The UNIDROIT Legislative Guide on Intermediated Securities addresses important matters to be considered in the creation of an intermediated securities holding system or the evaluation of an existing system. The Guide summarises the key principles and rules from the UNIDROIT Convention on Substantive Rules for Intermediated Securities (the Geneva Securities Convention or the Convention) and offers recommendations and guidance on those principles and rules as well as related matters not addressed in the Convention.
As the Convention’s drafters adopted a core and functional harmonisation approach, the Convention provides harmonised rules regarding certain intermediated securities issues, but also leaves various issues to be defined and determined by other rules of law in force in a Contracting State. The Guide complements the Convention by addressing these issues and, like the Convention, seeks to improve the legal framework for holding and transfer of intermediated securities, in order to enhance the internal soundness of domestic financial markets and their cross-border compatibility and, as such, to promote sustainable capital formation. In particular, the Guide explains what is and what is not covered by the Convention and provides guidance for States to consider in creating an intermediated securities holding system or evaluating an existing one. The Guide thus makes clear that the Convention is capable of accommodating different domestic holding systems and rendering their interactions significantly less risky and more predictable.
The Guide further seeks to promote the creation of comprehensive and coherent sets of legal rules for intermediated securities in two ways. First, in complementing the Convention, itis hoped that the Guide will promote its adoption and implementation. Second, in summarising the Convention’s key principles and rules, it is hoped that, even where the Convention is not adopted, such principles and rules could be chosen and implemented in those systems. Either way, the end result would be enhanced legal certainty and economic efficiency with respect to the holding and transfer of intermediated securities, in both domestic and cross-border situations.
The Guide is structured in nine Parts. Part I provides an overview on securities, describing their origins and development and identifying five general models of intermediated securities holding systems. Part II describes in brief the Geneva Securities Convention, including its purpose to reduce legal uncertainty and risk, its core and functional harmonisation approach, and the important role of law outside the Convention. Parts III-VII identify legislative principles, summarise key principles and rules regarding holding and transfer of intermediated securities, and explain their interaction with law outside the Convention. These Parts include coverage of the rights of account holders and the duties and liabilities of intermediaries (Part III), the transfer of intermediated securities (Part IV), the integrity of the intermediated holding system (Part V), insolvency protection (Part VI), and special provisions in relation to collateral transactions (Part VII). Lastly, Parts VIII-IX also identify legislative principles and provide overviews on conflict of laws aspects (Part VIII) and on other instruments and regulations and the implementation of the Convention or its principles and rules in a domestic legal framework (Part IX). In addition, model examples of legislative or regulatory texts or related descriptions, as well as bibliographic references, are to be made available at the respective links on the right side of this page.
The UNIDROIT Legislative Guide on Intermediated Securities is available here.
Background
In 2001, the Governing Council approved and the General Assembly adopted the triennial Work Programme, including a multi-item project entitled “Transactions on Transnational and Connected Capital Markets”. Work on the project was conducted on an item-by-item basis and resulted in the adoption of (1) the UNIDROIT Convention on Substantive Rules for Intermediated Securities in October 2009 by the diplomatic Conference to adopt a Convention on Substantive Rules regarding Intermediated Securities; (2) the UNIDROIT Principles on the Operation of Close-Out Netting Provisions by the UNIDROIT Governing Council at its 92nd session in May 2013 (“UNIDROIT Netting Principles”); and (3) the UNIDROIT Legislative Guide on Intermediated Securities by the UNIDROIT Governing Council at its 96th session in May 2017.
In view of the rapid progress made by the Committee of Governmental Experts negotiating the then draft Convention on Harmonised Rules regarding Intermediated Securities, the Governing Council recommended in 2005 that the General Assembly authorise, following indications of preferences by member States, work on the next item in the project, i.e. the preparation of principles and rules capable of enhancing trading in securities in emerging markets. Upon adoption of the UNIDROIT Netting Principles at its 92nd session in May 2013, the Governing Council decided to elevate the priority given to the preparation of such principles and rules. This decision was approved by the General Assembly at its 72nd session in December 2013, which included preparation of the Legislative Guide on Principles and Rules capable of enhancing trading in securities in emerging markets in the Work Programme of the Organisation for the 2014-2016 triennium at this higher level of priority (UNIDROIT 2013 – A.G. (72) 4). Under the current Work Programme for the 2017-2019 triennum, this project enjoys high priority (UNIDROIT 2016 – A.G. (75) 3 corr.).
Development and documentation
In addition to the Geneva Securities Convention, the diplomatic Conference to adopt a Convention on Substantive Rules regarding Intermediated Securities (Geneva, 5-9 October 2009) adopted a Resolution relating specifically to activities to support promotion of the entry into force and implementation of the Convention. To this effect UNIDROIT, in its capacity as Depositary of the Convention, was requested to make all appropriate efforts to organise activities such as meetings, conferences, and seminars with a view to promoting awareness and understanding of the Convention and assessing its continued effectiveness.
The diplomatic Conference also established a Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation (the Committee) to assist the Secretariat in its task. The Committee is co-chaired by Brazil and China. The current members of the Committee are: Argentina, Cameroon, Chile, France, Greece, India, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Turkey, United States of America, and the European Community. The observers are: Indonesia, European Central Bank, European Issuers, Hague Conference on Private International Law and Trade Association for the Emerging Markets. Since the conclusion of the diplomatic Conference, the Committee has met four times. The first meeting was held at UNIDROIT’s seat in Rome (6-8 September 2010), the second in Rio de Janeiro (27-28 March 2012), and the third in Istanbul (11-13 November 2013), and the fourth in Beijing (29-30 March 2017).
Using the Committee’s guidance from those meetings, an informal group of experts assisted the Secretariat with the preparation and review of a draft Legislative Guide on principles and rules capable of enhancing trading in securities in emerging markets, which was provisionally re-entitled by that group the “UNIDROIT Legislative Guide on Intermediated Securities: Implementing the Principles and Rules of the Geneva Securities Convention”. That draft was circulated both within the Committee and to other organisations and interested stakeholders and was reviewed during the Committee’s fourth meeting, which was convened in Beijing, China on 29-30 March 2017.
Following the Committee’s fourth meeting and in accordance with the Committee’s recommendation, the draft Legislative Guide was submitted to the UNIDROIT Governing Council for consideration and adoption at its 96th session (Rome, 10-12 May 2017). At that session, the Governing Council adopted the Legislative Guide and authorised the Secretariat to promote its dissemination and implementation.
The UNIDROIT Legislative Guide is available here. In addition, documentation for each of the Committee’s four meetings is below.
(1) 6-9 September 2010 (Rome):
The first two days consisted of a Colloquium on “The law of securities trading in emerging markets: lessons learned from the financial crisis and long-term trends”, with a view to identifying possible topics suitable for insertion in a future Legislative Guide on Principles and Rules capable of enhancing trading in securities in emerging markets. 25 speakers made presentations on a wide range of topics related to securities trading and the functioning of capital markets.
On the remaining days, the Committee met and considered a draft guidance document (draft Accession Kit, see UNIDROIT 2010 – S78B/CEM/1/Doc. 3) that was prepared by the UNIDROIT Secretariat as a first step toward the development of a Legislative Guide on Principles and Rules capable of enhancing trading in securities in emerging markets. It was intended to provide advice for countries that ratify the Geneva Securities Convention on how best to incorporate the Convention and integrate it into their domestic legal systems. The Committee decided to divide the document in two. The first part containing an explanatory memorandum for the assistance of States and Regional Economic Integration Organisations on the system of declarations under the Geneva Securities Convention ultimately became an UNIDROIT document in its capacity as Depositary of the Geneva Securities Convention (see UNIDROIT 2011 – DC11/DEP/Doc. 1 rev.). The second part containing references to sources of law outside the Convention was subsequently prepared and provided to the Committee in advance of its meeting in Rio de Janeiro and could serve as the basis for the future Legislative Guide (see UNIDROIT 2011 – S78B/CEM/2/Doc. 2).
Colloquium: Programme and presentations
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. First meeting, Rome, 6-9 September 2010. Colloquium “The law of securities trading in emerging markets: lessons learned from the financial crisis and long-term trends”. Villa Aldobrandini, Via Panisperna 28, 00184 Rome, 6-7 September 2010.
The integral versions of some of the presentations have been published in the Uniform Law Review, vol. 15 (2010) and vol. 16 (2011).
UNIDROIT 2010 – S78B/CEM/1/Doc. 4
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. First meeting, Rome, 6-9 September 2010. Report (prepared by the UNIDROIT Secretariat)
UNIDROIT 2010 – S78B/CEM/1/Doc. 3
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. First meeting, Rome, 6-9 September 2010. Accession Kit to the UNIDROIT Convention on Substantive Rules for Intermediated Securities (“Geneva Securities Convention”). Information for Contracting States in respect of the Convention’s declarations and references to sources of law outside the Convention. Draft prepared by the Secretariat
UNIDROIT 2010 – S78B/CEM/1/Doc. 2
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. First meeting, Rome, 6-9 September 2010. Proposal for an international instrument on the Netting of Financial Instruments – August 2010
UNIDROIT 2010 – S78B/CEM/1/Doc. 1
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. First meeting, Rome, 6-9 September 2010. Annotated agenda – June 2010
(2) 27-28 March 2012 (Rio de Janeiro):
The first day was devoted to a Colloquium on financial markets law which considered the actions taken by emerging markets to create a favourable environment for trading in intermediated securities and discussed how emerging markets have reacted to the financial crisis and which means are to be adopted to increase legal security and investor protection.
On the second day, the Committee examined the reception given to the Geneva Securities Convention in various countries, particularly in emerging countries, was presented the Official Commentary on the Convention, and considered legislative measures to implement the Convention and incorporate it in domestic law, as well as concrete proposals for its promotion. It also considered future work by UNIDROIT in the area of financial markets law.
Colloquium: Programme and presentations
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Second meeting – Rio de Janeiro, 27 and 28 March 2012. Colloquium ” Promoting investor confidence and enhancing legal certainty for securities trading in emerging markets”. Rio de Janeiro, 27 March 2012.
UNIDROIT 2012 – S78B/CEM/2/Doc. 3
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Second meeting, Rio de Janeiro, 27-28 March 2012. Report (prepared by the UNIDROIT Secretariat)
UNIDROIT 2011 – S78B/CEM/2/Doc. 2
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Second meeting, Rio de Janeiro, 27-28 March 2012. Information for Contracting States in respect of the Convention’s references to sources of law outside the Convention – November 2011
UNIDROIT 2011 – S78B/CEM/2/Doc. 1
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Second meeting, Rio de Janeiro, 27-28 March 2012. Annotated agenda – November 2011
(3) 11-13 November 2013 (Istanbul):
The first two days consisted of the Colloquium on financial markets law to consider actions taken by emerging markets to create a favourable environment for trading in intermediated securities, with particular emphasis on enhancing financial integrity under national law. The Colloquium focused particular attention on the disparities between national law and the Geneva Securities Convention, the need for national and cross-border insolvency rules, the potential effect of corporate governance systems on securities trading, and the role of specialised investment instruments. It also covered the impact of the UNIDROIT Netting Principles in reducing systemic and counter-party risk in emerging markets and the manner in which they may be incorporated into national law.
On the third day, the Committee first welcomed the participation of Turkey as a member since May 2013, at the invitation of the other Committee members, and considered the follow-up and promotional measures undertaken by the Secretariat, as well as legislative measures undertaken by the States to implement the Convention in emerging markets. The Committee then focused its attention on the scope and structure of the Legislative Guide by discussing the Draft Annotated Outline presented by the Secretariat in cooperation with the informal working group established at by the Committee at its second meeting (see UNIDROIT 2013 – S78B/CEM/3/Doc. 2 ), as well as a narrower outline presented by a group of States (see Annexe 2, UNIDROIT 2014 – C.D. (93) 5 ). It was proposed that the Committee commence drafting of the Legislative Guide based on the structure and content of the narrower outline and such proposal was accepted by consensus by the Committee.
Colloquium: Programme and presentations
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Third meeting, Istanbul, 11-13 November 2013. Colloquium “Enhancing Financial Integrity in Emerging Markets: The Geneva Convention and the UNIDROIT Principles on Close-Out Netting under National Law”. Istanbul, 11-12 November 2013.
UNIDROIT 2014 – S78B/CEM/3/Doc. 3
Committee on emerging markets issues, follow-up and implementation. Third meeting, Istanbul, 11-13 November 2013. Report (prepared by the UNIDROIT Secretariat)
UNIDROIT 2013 – S78B/CEM/3/Doc. 2
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Third meeting, Istanbul, 11-13 November 2013. Annotated Draft Outline: Legislative Guide on Principles and Rules capable of enhancing trading in securities in emerging markets – October 2013
UNIDROIT 2013 – S78B/CEM/3/Doc. 1
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Third meeting, Istanbul, 11-13 November 2013. Annotated agenda – July 2013
(4) 29-30 March 2017 (Beijing):
The first day of the meeting took the form of an open Colloquium on Financial Markets Law. It considered UNIDROIT’s financial markets instruments and related efforts to enhance and ensure legal certainty in both current and future securities holding systems and included experts panels discussing, inter alia: intermediated securities holding and transfer in the Asia-Pacific region; recent developments with respect to insolvency law, regulation, and international development; technological advances, such as distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, and their possible application to securities holding and transfer; and ensuring legal certainty with respect to distributed ledger and blockchain technologies.
The second day of the meeting covered the other items on the Committee’s Annotated Agenda (UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 1). In particular, the Committee focused on the review of the draft Legislative Guide for Intermediated Securities (UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 2), as well as the model examples of legislative or regulatory texts or related descriptions which are continuing to be collected and are to be included on UNIDROIT’s future webpage for the Legislative Guide (UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 3). During its deliberations, the Committee agreed upon certain amendments and additions and ultimately recommended that the draft Legislative Guide, as revised, be submitted to the UNIDROIT Governing Council for consideration and adoption at its 96th session (10-12 May 2017).
Colloquium: 
Programme
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Fourth meeting, Beijing, 29-30 March 2017. Colloquium on “Capital Markets and Intermediated Securities: Enhancing and Ensuring Legal Certainty in Both Current and Future Holding Systems”. Beijing, 29 March 2017.
UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 1
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Fourth meeting, Beijing, 29-30 March 2017. Draft Annotated Agenda.
UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 2
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Fourth meeting, Beijing, 29-30 March 2017. Draft Legislative Guide on Intermediated Securities.
UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 3
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Fourth meeting, Beijing, 29-30 March 2017. Possible examples and options, in particular legislative or regulatory texts or related descriptions for States to consider in connection with the indicated paragraphs of the Legislative Guide, which are continuing to be collected and are to be made available on Unidroit’s future webpage for the Legislative Guide.
UNIDROIT 2017 – S78B/CEM/4/Doc. 4
Committee on Emerging Markets Issues, Follow-up and Implementation. Fourth meeting, Beijing, 29-30 March 2017. Report (prepared by the UNIDROIT Secretariat).
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’.
Professor Donati is the author of several publications on corporate law, restructuring, insolvency law, and bank crisis management. On the same topics, he has been invited as a speaker to various international and national conferences and participated in some high-impact international, European, and national research projects. Professor Donati’s education includes a Ph.D. in Corporate Law (University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’), an LLM in Corporate Governance (Stanford Law School), and a Law Degree with honors (University of Florence). He is qualified as an attorney in Italy and in the State of New York (USA).
Ms Olga Fonotova is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law (Department of Legal Regulation of Business) at the Russian National Research University “Higher School of Economics” in Moscow. She holds a PhD degree cum laude in private law / private international law from the Lomonosov Moscow State University (2006). Her academic and teaching interests cover private international law, international and national commercial law, with a focus on unified and non-state legal regulation of cross-border commerce.
Olga is a Russian law qualified practicing lawyer in the sphere of national and international commercial and corporate law with 20+ years’ experience in leading law firms. As part of her legal practice, she has advised multinational corporations on the setting up of multi-jurisdictional commercial relations, on the formation / termination of international joint ventures, restructuring of assets, and financing / refinancing of projects. For her work on commercial and corporate legal matters she was included in the international rating of leading lawyers “The Best Lawyers® in Russia” (2018 – 2022).
She is a UNIDROIT alumna (2011) and a Correspondent of UNIDROIT in Russia (2023 – 2025). From 2016 to 2021 Olga was a member of the ICC Commission on Commercial Law and Practice (ICC CLP) and a member of the Association of European Business (AEB) in Moscow.
Allan M. Mukuki, PhD Candidate (Navarra, Spain), LLM (Groningen, Netherlands), PGDip (KSL), LLB (Hons) (UoN), ACIArb (London), Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
Allan Mukuki is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya as well as a Commissioner for Oaths. He is presently a PhD Candidate at the University of Navarra in Spain. He is also a holder of an LL.M in International Law and the Law of International Organizations, from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He has an LL. B (Hons) from the University of Nairobi, he is a Member of the Cha
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.
Some of his many roles in the legal profession include Director of International Partnerships; a Doctoral Fellow; member of the Management Committee and moot court coordinator, all for Strathmore Law School; Research Fellow for the African Region (Kenya), for the European Research Council Grant Project on the interpretation of customary international law; and Acting Director for the Strathmore Institute of Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice (SIASIC)
Allan has previously worked at A.F Gross Advocate; in various legal institutes; in governmental agencies and in the Judiciary of Kenya. He was also a Legal researcher in the Office of the Solicitor General, Kenya, for the Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya), a case that was before the International Court of Justice. His main areas of specialization include Public International Law, The Law of International Organizations, International Humanitarian Law, International and Regional (EAC) Refugee Law and Legal Policy Development.
Further, Allan has been involved in various national and international legal consultancies and projects; he has published several peer reviewed legal articles, a legal monograph and presented several legal papers in international conferences around the world. He has also developed several policy documents for Strathmore University as well as (currently operational) manuals and laws for the operation of the Judiciary as well as governmental agencies and regional agencies such as IGAD.
ANDREA SANTACOLOMA
Director
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Andrea Santacoloma is a Panamanian lawyer that focuses her practice on international commercial arbitration.
Prior to joining Adell & Merizalde, Andrea was the Deputy Director for Latin America of the ICC International Court of Arbitration for 5 years. In this role, she gained vast experience in the internal functioning of the ICC’s Secretariat and Court and saw first-hand the work of hundreds of arbitrators and ICC Court Members in the region. Andrea was also in charge of identifying new opportunities and potential users of the ICC Dispute Resolution Services (ICC DRS) in Latin America, in liaison with the ICC National Committees and other institutions in the region. She also worked as a lawyer advising local and international clients on business and corporate law and M&A in 3 Panamanian law firms.
She is currently the Executive Director of the Latin American Arbitration Association (ALARB), one of Latin America’s leading associations gathering practitioners and arbitrators, which seeks to encourage the use of arbitration and foster initiatives for the development of international arbitration in the region.
In July 2022, the G
overning Council of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) appointed Andrea as a Correspondent for Latin America. Namely, Andrea was appointed as a Correspondent for the Republic of Panama for the period 2022-2025.
EDUCATION
• American University Washington College of Law, LL.M. in International Arbitration and Business Law
• International Training Centre of the International Labor Organization (ILO) jointly with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Università degli Studi di Torino, and University Institute of European Studies (IUSE), LL.M. in International Trade Law & Dispute Resolution
• Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua, LL.M. in Corporate Law
• Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua, Degree in Law and Political Science
• Centro de Estudios Regionales de Panamá, Diploma in Entrepreneurship and Management of Small and Medium Enterprises
Bar admissions
Republic of Panama
Languages
Spanish, English, Italian (intermediate)
asantacoloma@adellmerizalde.com
+507 370 4155
NAME: PROF. DR. HERNANY VEYTIA (LL.M. YALE)
AFFILIATION DIRECTOR BNM-CAMBRIDGE STUDY CENTRE ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS
PRESENTATION
Professor of law, international strategic consultant, arbitrator, and entrepreneur. Hernany Veytia is very comfortable with complex, high-profile and confidential transactions. Her consulting experience as partner of BNM and Deloitte enables her to focus on and add value to the sustainable and commercial aspects of each deal. Frequently she leads transdisciplinary teams to deliver fact findings and legal opinions, feasibility studies and turn-key projects for banks, governments, international organisations, and corporations willing to expand or withdraw operations in other jurisdictions.
In Prof Veytia’s experience UNIDROIT works have been very useful to understand not only the foreign law, but also to recognise the cultural, political, and economic factors at play, and the way national and international regulators operate-and cooperate. In her opinion, UNIDROIT instruments have been of utmost importance for the legal strategies she designed for:
• DANPREIT (Dispute Analytics Platform for Real Estate Investment Trusts in the Agriculture, Construction and Mining industries).
• TELEKAIROS, innovative methodology that incorporates the use of space assets.
• Corporate art collections, restitutions, including donations, sponsorships, and loans to museums.
• Contracts used by a German waterworks company willing to grow in all the Caribbean and Central American countries.
• Liquidation of commercial and investment banks
• IPOs and reverse mergers for companies in the extraction industries (Canadian stock exchange), ILS listed in Bermuda and African sovereign funds listed in London.
• Franchising and other commercial contracts in the food & drinks, health, aero-space, and automotive industries.
In the last three decades Prof. Veytia has lived, and successfully completed investments and disinvestments in more than forty countries in the five Continents. She is frequently appointed as arbitrator and invited as speaker on risk transfers at international industry conferences in fields of her expertise: energy (both renewable and traditional), artificial intelligence, infrastructure, mining, real estate, agriculture, rail, space, automotive, and franchising. She sits in the board of directors of companies in Europe including the United Kingdom.
Anna Veneziano is the Deputy Secretary General of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). She is a Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Teramo, Italy, where she was formerly the Director of the Department of Private Law. She has also formerly been a tenured Professor of European Property Law at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Her education includes a Law Degree with honours from the University of Rome La Sapienza, an LL.M degree from the Yale Law School funded by a Fulbright scholarship, and a PhD degree from the University of Florence (Italy).
Her main research and publication areas are on secured transactions as well as international, comparative, and European contract and sales law. Before joining UNIDROIT she was a member of the Italian delegation with respect to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests on Mobile Equipment and its Aircraft Protocol as well as its Space Protocol. She was also a member of the Study Group on a European Civil Code and of the Compilation and Redaction Group on a Draft Common Frame of Reference on European Private Law (DCFR), and of the restricted Expert Group set up by the European Commission on a common European law on sales.
P
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.
Amongst other accolades to his professional experience, Professor Tirado is a founding member of the European Banking Institute, an International Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and has been Director and Academic Co-Chair of the International Insolvency Institute.
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.
