UNIDROIT was honoured to participate in the Third Doha Workshop on Combatting Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Heritage, held from 9 to 12 September 2024, organised by the Qatar National Library. This important event, hosted in Doha, brought together international experts, policymakers, and institutions dedicated to strengthening legislative and legal frameworks to protect cultural heritage from illicit trafficking and to enhance institutional capacities worldwide.
The Third Doha Workshop provided a platform for key stakeholders to discuss and address the challenges surrounding the illicit trade of cultural property, a global issue that threatens the preservation of cultural heritage and undermines the rule of law. In line with its commitment to international legal cooperation in this field, UNIDROIT was represented by Ms Marina Schneider, Principal Legal Officer and Treaties Depositary.
Ms Schneider delivered a presentation titled “The UNIDROIT Convention 1995: Strengthening Cooperation and Establishing Common Legal Rules for the Recovery of Cultural Property.” In her address, she highlighted the pivotal role of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects in fostering international cooperation and setting common minimal legal rules for the return and restitution of cultural property. The presentation was followed by a lively Q & A session during which some Arab States announced their intention to accede to the 1995 Convention.
The UNIDROIT Convention remains a critical instrument for nations striving to combat illicit trafficking by creating a uniform legal framework that enables the recovery of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects. Ms Schneider underscored how the Convention facilitates cooperation between States and enhances legal certainty for cultural institutions and the art market, ensuring that cultural heritage can be protected, preserved, and returned to its rightful owners.
The Third Doha Workshop marks an important step in the ongoing global efforts to address the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Through initiatives like these, UNIDROIT continues to work with its partners to promote legal frameworks and collaborative actions that safeguard the world’s cultural heritage for future generations.
At the invitation of QNL, after the celebration of the international day against illicit trafficking in cultural property on 14 November 2022, the participation to the Second Doha Webinar in September 2023 and the online webinar specifically organised to raise awareness on the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention in the Arab States in May 2024, UNIDROIT is proud to contribute to such essential dialogues and looks forward to further strengthening international cooperation in this field.
A special thanks to Ms Tan Huism, Executive Director of the Qatar National Library, Mr Maxim Nasra, Head of Preservation and Conservation, QNL, and their whole team.
Programme of the Third Doha Workshop
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.