On 15 June 2018 a regional conference was held in Asuncion, Paraguay on the topic of international secured transactions law. Co-hosted by the Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Economía y Política (CEDEP), the Paraguayan Ministry of Justice and the National Law Center, the conference featured a number of presentations by secured transactions law experts from States across Latin America, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Paraguay. Unidroit was represented by Governing Council member José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez, who made the opening presentation at the event. The conference featured special panels on both the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol, as well as the future MAC Protocol. Presentations on the Cape Town Convention and MAC Protocol were delivered by Weldon Walter Black Zaldívar (Viceminister of Justice, Paraguay), Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell (Professor Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, Spain), Felipe Bonsenso Veneziano (MAC Working Group, Brazil) and Adalberto Elias (NatLaw, Mexico).

On 14 June, Secretary-General a.i. Professor Anna Veneziano had the opportunity to meet with the Department of Transport (DOT) of South Africa to provide governmental officials with a first-hand sense of the latest developments on the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention. The meeting was organised by State Law Adviser Mr Andre Smit of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and chaired by Mr Jan-David de Villiers (DDG Rail, DOT), with participation of Ms Molobe Constance Maleho, Director Rail Infrastructure and other   DOT legal officials and representatives from the Department of Public Enterprises and the National Treasury. The aim of the meeting was to provide information on, and discuss issues related with, the Rail Protocol via UNIDROIT and the Rail Working Group, represented by Mr Howard Rosen (Chairman), and discuss avenues for future cooperation. Ms Elizabeth Hirst, Managing Director of Regulis SA, the Registrar, also participated remotely via video conference to provide insight on the functions of the Rail Registry.

On 13 June 2018 Unidroit, the South Africa Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the Faculty of Law of the University of Johannesburg co-hosted a consultation workshop on the future MAC Protocol at the Council Chambers of the University of Johannesburg. The South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Makgabo Reginah Mhaule addressed participants, noting the potential economic and legal benefits that the MAC Protocol could have in South Africa. Presentations were also made by UNIDROIT Secretary-General a.i. Professor Anna Veneziano, Legal Officer William Brydie-Watson, Director of Multilateral Trade Relations at DIRCO Ms D Viljoen, DIRCO State Law Adviser Mr Andre Smit and Ms Erin Bennett of the MAC Protocol Working Group. Over 50 participants from Government, the private sector and academia registered to attend the event.

From Left to Right: Professor Jan Neels (University of Johannesburg, UNIDROIT Governing
Council member), Professor Daleen Millard (Vice Dean, Faculty of Law, UJ), Ms Makgabo Reginah
Mhaule (Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation), Professor Eesa Fredericks
(University of Johannesburg), Professor Anna Veneziano, Mr William Brydie-Watson, and
Mr Andre Smit (DIRCO State Law Adviser).

On 12 June  2018 Secretary-General a.i. Professor Anna Veneziano and Legal Officer William Brydie-Watson delivered a joint lecture on the Cape Town Convention and future MAC Protocol to LLM students at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. The lecture was organised by UNIDROIT Governing Council member Professor Jan Neels and focused on the major features and legal operation of the two instruments. During the institutional visit, the Secretariat was also taken on a tour of the University’s main library which is a Depositary Library for UNIDROIT.

From Left to Right: Professor Jan Neels, Professor Anna Veneziano and Mr William Brydie-Watson		Professor Veneziano delivering the lecture

On 6-8 June 2018, UNIDROIT, represented by the Secretary-General a.i., participated in the 6th PRICL Workshop in Bad-Homburg (Germany). The workshop session successfully completed the plenary discussion of the draft PRICL considering among others the remaining issue relating to the Rules on Remedies and their consistency with the UNIDROIT Principles.

-> For more information on the project click here.

Picture of the group of participants

The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (the CTC) is one of the world’s most important commercial law treaties, which now has 76 Contracting States. The Cape Town Convention Academic Project is holding its seventh annual conference in Oxford on 12th and 13th September 2018 at the Blavatnik School of Government. This conference covers issues and discussion on all three existing protocols of the Cape Town Convention, with a particular focus in 2018 on the draft MAC protocol.

-> Click here for the the website for the conference.

-> Participants for the conference can register here.

The instrument of accession of the Syrian Arab Republic to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention was deposited with the Italian Government, Depositary of the Convention, on 27 April 2018 and the Convention will enter into force for the Syrian Arab Republic on 1 October 2018.

-> Further details about the Convention are available at page.

-> The complete status of the Convention is available at page.

On 4 and 5 June, UNIDROIT attended the Fifth Meeting of the Stakeholders' Committee of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, organised by the European Commission and held in Brussels. On that occasion, the Commission interviewed the stakeholders for contributions to the New European Agenda for Culture.

-> EYCH