On 31 July 2018, the Ministry of Justice of Japan and UNIDROIT co-organised an Invitational Workshop on the MAC Protocol to the Cape Town Convention, which was held at Gakushuin University (Tokyo). The Workshop was opened by Mr Muneki Uchino (Counselor of the Civil Affairs Bureau, of the Japanese Ministry of Justice), Professor Ignacio Tirado (Secretary-General elect, UNIDROIT), and Professor Hideki Kanda (UNIDROIT Governing Council member - Gakushuin University).  Professor Megumi Hara (Japanese Delegate to the Committee of Governmental Experts for the MAC Protocol) then coordinated a Panel in which Mr Susumu Masuda (Delegate of Japan for the CTC and Aircraft Protocol) presented on the Practical Merits of the Cape Town Convention, followed by Secretary-General a.i. Professor Anna Veneziano on the Cape Town Convention and the Recent Developments of the MAC Protocol, a presentation on the Economic Analysis of the MAC Protocol by UNIDROIT Secretary-General elect Professor Ignacio Tirado, and a presentation on the HS Codes proposed by Japan for inclusion in the MAC Protocol annexes by Dr Marek Dubovec (Executive Board member of the MAC Protocol Working Group), followed by comments from Ms. Hitomi Yamanaka (Attorney of the Civil Affairs Bureau, of the Japanese Ministry of Justice). The Workshop was attended by eminent representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as well as representatives from the relevant industries and academia.

Secretary-General elect Ignacio Tirado		Group picture of Workshop participants

On 8 August 2018, UNIDROIT accepted Costa Rica’s instrument of accession to the Aircraft Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. The Convention and the Aircraft Protocol will formally enter into force for the Republic of Costa Rica on 1 December 2018.

Further details about the Convention are available at "Depositary Functions of UNIDROIT (Cape Town Convention)" page.

On 13 July 2018 Legal Officer William Brydie-Watson participated in a workshop providing technical assistance to Indonesia regarding legal instruments that would assist in strengthening Indonesia’s economic legal infrastructure. Working alongside experts from UNCITRAL and the HCCH, UNIDROIT provided guidance on the Institute’s work in the agricultural development field, with a focus on the MAC Protocol, Legal Guide on Contract Farming and future Legal Guide on Agricultural Land Investment. The workshop was organised in conjunction with the SELI group under the APEC Economic Committee.

On 27 July 2018, Secretary-General ad interim Professor Anna Veneziano delivered a lecture on “UNIDROIT’s work on sustainable development – the UNIDROIT-FAO-IFAD Legal Guide on Contract Farming” at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, at a seminar hosted by Professor Hiroo Sono. The lecture was followed by a discussion with faculty members and graduate students.

Professor Anna Veneziano delivering her lecture		From left to right: Ms Akane Kido (Toyama University), Professor Hiroo Sono (Hokkaido University), Professor Anna Veneziano (UNIDROIT), and Professor Souichirou Kozuka (Gakushuin University)

On 23 July 2018 Namibia’s instruments of accession to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and to the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters specific to Aircraft Equipment was deposited with UNIDROIT. Namibia made declarations under Articles 39(1)(a)-(b), 39(4), 54(2) and 55 of the Convention, and under Article XXX(1) of the Aircraft Protocol. The Convention and the Aircraft Protocol will enter into force for Namibia on 1 November 2018. Further details about the Convention and the Aircraft Protocol are available at the "Depositary Functions of UNIDROIT (Cape Town Convention)" and "Depositary Function of UNIDROIT (Aircraft Protocol)" pages.

On 23 July 2018, a panel titled ‘The UNIDROIT Principles as a Common Frame of Reference for the Uniform Interpretation of National Laws’ was held during the 20th quadrennial General Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan.  The panel was moderated by Professor Naoki Kanayama (Tokyo) and was opened by the General Co-Reporters Professors Alejandro Garro (New York) and UNIDROIT Governing Council member José Moreno Rodrigues (Asunción) and featured presentations by national reporters as well as a discussion with the audience. UNIDROIT Secretary-General a.i. Professor Anna Veneziano participated as a speaker in the panel.

-> For more information on the 20th IACL Congress click here.

-> To learn more about this panel click here.

-> For more information on the UNIDROIT Principles click here.

Group photo of National Reporters		Co-Reporter Professor Alejandro M Garro		Co-Reporter Professor Jose A Moreno		Moderator Professor Naoki Kanayama

From 4 to 6 July 2018, UNIDROIT participated in a three-day national workshop to strengthen capacities for the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property organised by UNESCO and the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The workshop also focused on policy, customs and cultural heritage protection services and included presentations on practical tools and resources such as the International Council of Museums’ (ICOM) Red Lists and Code of Ethics, the UNIDROIT new cultural property page, the UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws as well as model legislations and export certificates.

-> For more info click here.

On 2 July 2018, the Kingdom of Sweden, which is already a Party to the Cape Town Convention and the Aircraft Protocol, deposited its instrument of ratification of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol, with a declaration under Article XXVII(1). The Luxembourg Rail Protocol will enter into force when the conditions set out in Article XXIII(1) of the Rail Protocol have been satisfied.

Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of the Royal Kingdom of Sweden in Italy, Mr Fredrik Alfer, and Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice of Sweden, Ms Louise Petrelius, participated in a ceremony to celebrate the deposit of the ratification instrument of the Luxembourg Protocol at the seat of UNIDROIT. The delegation was received by the President of UNIDROIT, Professor Alberto Mazzoni, Secretary-General a.i. of UNIDROIT, Prof. Anna Veneziano and Ms Marina Schneider, Senior Legal Officer and Treaty Depositary. The ceremony took place before First Secretary and Vice Consul of the Embassy of Luxembourg Mr André Flammang, as well as members of the Rail Working Group and Ratification Task Force.

The following statement of Heléne Fritzon, Minister for Migration and Deputy Minister for Justice, was read aloud on this occasion: “The foreseeability that the Luxembourg Rail Protocol provides for creditors is expected to increase the access to private capital and give railway undertakings more favourable economic conditions. Cheaper and wider financing options make it easier for train operators to invest and the rail sector is strengthened, which is good for the environment and for consumers.” President Mazzoni, in his statement, underlined that “UNIDROIT is very satisfied with this important step towards the implementation of the Rail Protocol, which further enhances the recognition of the tangible economic advantages it will produce world-wide for the industry as well as for States in terms of sustainable development”.

Further details about the Luxembourg Protocol and the Cape Town Convention are available at:

 - "Depositary Functions of UNIDROIT – Luxembourg Rail Protocol"

 - "Depositary Functions of UNIDROIT - Cape Town Convention"

From left to right: Bjoern Frederik Alfer (Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the Royal Kingdom
of Sweden in Italy), Louise Petrelius (Deputy Director, Ministry of Justice of Sweden),
Anna Veneziano (Secretary-General a.i., UNIDROIT), Alberto Mazzoni (President, UNIDROIT).