On 23 October, Strathmore University Law School generously hosted a Regional Consultation Workshop on the future Legal Guide to Agricultural Land Investment Contracts (ALIC) developed by UNIDROIT in collaboration with the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The future Legal Guide on Agricultural Land Investment Contracts responds to the need for greater and more responsible investment in agriculture, incorporating necessary safeguards to enhance food security and nutrition and to protect legitimate tenure right holders, human rights, livelihoods and the environment while reducing investment risks. As part of the finalization of the future Legal Guide, this workshop was designed to facilitate feedback on the ALIC Zero Draft from stakeholders in Africa, including investors’ legal counsels, government officials, non-governmental organizations, academics and private sector representatives.
The Acting Dean of Strathmore Law School Professor Francisco B. Lopez-Jurado and Secretary-General of UNIDROIT Professor Ignacio Tirado opened the event, which was divided into four sessions. The first was moderated by Strathmore Law School’s Director of International Partnerships Mr Allan Mukuki and provided a comprehensive overview of the Guide with presentations from Professor Ignacio Tirado, Mr Charles Bebay (FAO Representative a.i. in Kenya), Dr Edith Kirumba (Environment, Climate and Safeguards Specialist, IFAD), and Professor James Gathii (Loyola University, Chicago). The second session, moderated by Professor Gathii, delved into the key issues of responsible drafting of land investment contracts with the aid of presentations by Ms Joan Kagwanja (Coordinator, African Land Policy Centre), Professor Elizabeth Gachenga (Deputy Vice Chancellor, Strathmore University), Dr Joseph Kieyah (Kenya Institute of Policy Analysis), and Dr Robert Kibugi (Law Lecturer, University of Nairobi). The third session, moderated by Professor Gachenga, focussed on striking the right balance between parties in Africa, featuring Professor Patricia Kameri-Mbote (University of Nairobi), Mr Rugemeleza Nshala (Executive Director of the Lawyers Environment Action Team, Tanzania), Dr Titilayo Adebola (Lecturer, Aberdeen University, Law Faculty), and Ms Aphrodite Smagadi (Law Division, UNEP). The fourth and final session moderated by Professor Gathii, sought to explore remedies and dispute resolution with the participation of Mr. John Bosco Suuza, (Ag. Commissioner Directorate of Legal Advisory Services, Ministry of Justice of Uganda), Professor Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell (Professor Commercial Law, University Carlos III Madrid), Mr James Nyiha (Legal Practitioner, Lecturer at Strathmore University), and Mr Carlo Di Nicola (Senior Legal Officer, UNIDROIT).
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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.