CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

UNIDROIT PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS - CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

 

2020

3 February 2020 saw the opening of the 10th edition of the Master of Laws in International Trade Law, an LLM programme of the International Training Centre of the ILO, the University of Turin and the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in cooperation with the Turin School of Development, with participation of the Deputy Secretary General as representative of UNIDROIT and member of the Scientific Committee. UNIDROIT formally became a partner organisation in the programme in 2019.

On 11-12 March 2020, in the framework of the 10th edition of the LLM in International Trade Law, Legal Officer Philine Wehling delivered, by video conference, a lecture on “International Sources of Contract Law: The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts”.

On 27 May 2020 the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General were invited to deliver a webinar lecture as part of the 8th Edition of the Masters LUISS Business and Company Law, where the Secretary-General introduced UNIDROIT and its methods, and the Deputy Secretary-General delivered a lecture on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts.

On 25 June 2020 the Secretary-General participated in an international webinar entitled “The UNIDROIT Principles in the case law of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals”, organised by CEDEP (Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Economía y Política) in Asunciòn, Paraguay, with the participation of Alberto Martinez Simon, President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay, and UNIDROIT Governing Council member José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez.

On 3 September 2020 the IBA Arbitration Committee, IBA European Regional Forum, IBA International Commerce and Distribution Committee, and IBA Litigation Committee organised a webinar, supported by the IBA Corporate and M&A Law Committee, entitled “Covid-19 and UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts Solutions”, chaired by Ms Ina Popova with participation as speakers of the Secretary-General of UNIDROIT Prof. Ignacio Tirado, Ms Koh Swee Yen and Prof. Eckart Brödermann.

 

 

2019

On 18-19 March 2019, Mr Neale Bergman (Legal Officer, UNIDROIT) delivered a lecture on “International Sources of Contract Law: The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts” to 21 students, hailing from 15 countries, in the ITC-ILO’s LLM Programme in International Trade Law.

On 3 May 2019, Deputy Secretary-General Anna Veneziano delivered a lecture in the framework of the Luiss B&C Law Masters Course on the Regulation of International Commerce, on “Soft Law – International Conventions and the UNIDROIT Principles”.

On 13 May 2019, hosted by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, UNIDROIT partnered with the Cátedra de Estudios Jurídicos Iberoamericanos to deliver a seminar on “UNIDROIT and the Codification of International Private Law”.

On 19 September 2019 the Moot organised by the Universidad de Buenos Aires and the Universidad del Rosario de Bogotá took place in Asunción, with the local organisation in charge of the Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Economía y Política (CEDEP). The case discussed issues related to the UNIDROIT Principles.

 

 

2018

On 23 April 2018, Neale Bergman, UNIDROIT Legal Officer, delivered a lecture entitled “The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts” at the campus of International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO);

On 18 May 2018, on the occasion of the award ceremony of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Prof. Michael Joachim Bonell, Member of the Expert Committee composed of 16 eminent academics from all over the world and entrusted with the selection of the winner of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize, was invited to deliver a recorded lecture on “The Law Governing International Commercial Contracts and the Actual Role of the UNIDROIT Principles” then posted on the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum web-side;

On 25 May 2018, the Secretary-General a.i. Professor Anna Veneziano was invited to deliver a lecture in the 6th Edition of the Masters LUISS Business and Company Law: European and International Perspectives, entitled “Formulating rules for transnational contracts: the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC)”;

In May 2018, Mr José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez, member of the UNIDROIT Governing Council, promoted the Principles and their applicability regarding arbitration clauses found in standard terms or general conditions at the Latin American Arbitration Conference, held in Cusco;

On 7 June 2018, Prof. Michael Joachim Bonell, on the invitation of Prof. Reinhard Zimmermann, Director at the Max Planck Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht in Hamburg, participated in a workshop to discuss the actual role of the UNIDROIT Principles of international commercial contracts and dispute resolution practice;

The International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL) held its quadrennial colloquium from 23 to 27 July 2018 in Fukuoka (Japan). UNIDROIT Governing Council member Professor José Moreno Rodriguez and Professor Alejandro Garro presented the General Report on “The use of the UNIDROIT Principles in order to interpret or supplement national contract law”. Among the National Reporters who contributed to this topic Secretary General a.i. Anna Veneziano prepared the Italian National Report (together with Eleonora Finazzi Agrò). Professor Monika Pauknerová, UNIDROIT Governing Council member, prepared with Magdalena Pfeiffer, the Czech National Report with a contribution entitled “UNIDROIT Principles as Reference for Uniform Interpretation of national Laws, Czech Republic”;

On 14 September 2018, UNIDROIT was invited to participate in an International Conference entitled “China’s Belt and Road Initiative – Opportunities and Challenges for International Dispute Resolution and Contracting” (Hamburg 13-15 September). The conference was a celebratory event organised on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the CEAC (Chinese European Arbitration Centre), by its Managing Director Professor Eckart Brödermann. Professor Anna Veneziano, Deputy Secretary-General, participated as co-moderator for two panels, one entitled “Common Law and Civil Law Perspective of the UNIDROIT Principles” and another on the “Interaction between the CISG and the UNIDROIT Principles – a hot topic for China related contracts”;

On 28 September 2018, Roma Tre University and UNIDROIT co-hosted the Fifth Edition of the Annual International Arbitration Lecture entitled “Use of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: from skepticism to confidence”, as part of the programme of the International Commercial and Investment Arbitration Theory and Practice Certificate, jointly organised by Roma Tre, the Italian Arbitration Association, the International Court of Arbitration, and the Chamber of Arbitration of Milan. Professor Ignacio Tirado (Secretary-General of UNIDROIT) and Professor Andrea Zoppini (Faculty of Law, Roma Tre University) opened the event and introduced the Keynote speaker, Mr John Beechey CBE (Founding Partner at Beechey Arbitration and Past President of the International Court of Arbitration at ICC);

in November Mr. Michael Joachim Bonell, Emeritus Professor, University of Rome I, and Consultant, UNIDROIT, at the invitation of the Law Faculty of the University of Würzburg (Germany), held a four-week course of lectures on “International Commercial Contracts in Europe and Worldwide (Domestic Laws vs. Uniform Law)”. The course was focused on selected items of general contract law such as party autonomy, contract formation & precontractual liability, contract interpretation, illegality, force majeure & hardship and liquidated damages & penalty clauses, and with respect of each of these items the solutions provided by the major legal systems were compared with the approach taken by the UNIDROIT Principles;

Also, Professor Monika Pauknerová, member of the UNIDROIT Governing Council, published with Magdalena Pfeiffer an article entitled “The Use of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts to interpret or supplement Czech contract law” (The lawyer Quarterly, No. 4, Prague 2018, 452-468).

 

 

2017

On 14 March 2017, the Secretary-General, Mr. José Angelo Estrella Faria, delivered an opening lecture on “The Application of Non-State Laws to International Commercial Arbitration”, in a Conference organised by the University of Talca, Chile, within the context of “Proyecto Anillo MASC CHILE SOC 1406se” entitled “Contracting and International Commercial Arbitration”, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago;

On 31 March 2017, the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), and UNIDROIT co-hosted a conference at UIBE’s campus in Beijing, China, on the topic of “The Belt and Road Initiative and Dispute Resolution: Focusing on the UNIDROIT Principles, International Arbitration and Judicial Adjudication”. Written addresses included by Mr Wan Exiang, Vice Chairman of the 12th National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Mr José Angelo Estrella Faria, Secretary-General of UNIDROIT, and Mr Wang Chengjie, Secretary-General of CIETAC;

On 6-7 April 2017, Neale Bergman, UNIDROIT Legal Officer, delivered a lecture entitled “The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts” at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO) Master of Laws (LL.M) programme on international trade law;

On 11 July 2017, UNIDROIT and the Chamber of National and International Arbitration of Milan (CAM) co-sponsored a conference on the new 2016 edition of the UNIDROIT Principles, focusing in particular on their actual use in the drafting of international contracts and resolving international disputes. Speakers included Professor Alberto Mazzoni (President of UNIDROIT), and Mr José Angelo Estrella Faria (Secretary-General of UNIDROIT);

On 31 July 2017, Professor M. J. Bonell held the Inaugural Lecture of the Summer Courses of The Hague Academy of International Law entitled “The Law Governing International Commercial Contracts: Hard Law versus Soft Law”;

In November 2017, Professor M.J. Bonell, at the invitation of the Law Faculty of the University of Würzburg (Germany), for the second year held a 4-weeks Postgraduate Course on “International Commercial Contracts in Europe and Worldwide (Domestic Law vs. Uniform Law)”, focused on a comparison between the contract laws of the U.S. and of a selected number of European countries on the one side, and the CISG and the UNIDROIT Principles on the other, with special references to relevant court decisions and arbitral awards reported in the UNILEX data base.

 

 

2016

Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law at Stockholm University

On 23 February 2016, the President of UNIDROIT, Mr Alberto Mazzoni, made a presentation at an event entitled “Could the UNIDROIT Principles solve the battle between Common Law jurisdictions and other jurisdictions in international arbitration? If so, how?” and organised by the Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law at Stockholm University.

Faculty of Law of the University of Oslo

On 3-4 March 2016, at the kind invitation of the Faculty of Law of the University of Oslo, an event entitled “UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: Issues Relating to Long-Term Contracts” was held in Oslo, at which the recommended amendments and additions were the subject of lengthy and fruitful discussions.

UNIDROIT Lectures: Perspectives from Japan

On 14 March 2016, Mr Giorgio F. Colombo, Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Law at Nagoya University, Japan, held a lecture on “The Role of UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts in Legal Education in Japan: Some Practical Remarks” in the context of the “UNIDROIT Lectures: Perspectives from Japan” held at the seat of UNIDROIT.

ICC-FIDIC Conference on International Construction Contracts and Dispute Resolution

Jointly organized by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the annual Conference on International Construction Contracts and Dispute Resolution took place in Istanbul on 29-30 March 2016.

This conference was part of the continuing effort of the ICC and FIDIC to promote better construction and more efficient dispute resolution around the world.

Topics addressed included:

– Issues with the use of FIDIC Contracts in Turkey and the Middle East; Claims and Dispute
Resolution Procedures under FIDIC Contracts

– Benefits of using Dispute Boards in international projects

– Settlement of construction disputes and related problems

– Jurisdictional issues with respect to preliminary stages in multi-tiered dispute resolution
clauses

– Overview of enforcement practices in Turkey, Middle East and CIS countries

90th Anniversary Celebration Series: Practicing International Law at the United Nations

On 15 April 2016, the President and the Secretary-General participated in an event entitled “Practicing International Law at the United Nations” and organised at the seat of UNIDROIT by the Secretariat and the Italian Society for International Organization (SIOI) as part of UNIDROIT’s 90th Anniversary Celebration Series, at which inter alia the importance of the UNIDROIT Principles was discussed by the panellists and participants.

 

 

2015

Six video-linked locations: On 25 February 2015, a two-hour programme on “The 2010 UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts”  took place in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Washington D.C. It was organised by the New York Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and Squire Patton Boggs, in association with ICC/SICANA, Inc., New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC), the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA), and the CIArb European Branch and Washington D.C. Chapter. The programme was introduced by Peter Michaelson, Chair of CIArb New York Branch, and moderated by Richard Mattiaccio, the Squire Patton Boggs partner and Chair of the Programming Committee of CIArb New York Branch who organised the program.

M.J. Bonell (UNIDROIT), E. Brödermann (Hamburg), N. Cohen (New York) B. Fauvarque-Cosson (Paris), H. Gabriel (Greensboro, North Carolina) and A. Garro (New York) made presentations on specific topics and answered questions from an audience composed of experts in international commercial law and disputes. Speakers and participants were connected through video-conferencing between six Squire Patton Boggs offices. Additional participants from all around the world followed the live programme online. It was the occasion for a lively introduction to key provisions and to the actual and potential use of the UNIDROIT Principles in cross-border commercial disputes and in the development of commercial law in civil, common law and developing legal systems. The multi-location programme attracted approximately 150 participants and reflected growing interest in the 2010 UNIDROIT Principles on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

 

2014

Seminar at University of Tehran: On 25 November 2014, the Secretary-General participated in a Seminar entitled “Unity of National Laws in the view of 1388 as a year of Renewal – UNIDROIT – Background of the Institute and the ways for mutual collaboration” organised by the University of Tehran with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Dr. F. Mousavi, the Dean of the Law School of the University of Tehran, opened the seminar and delivered the welcome address, which was followed by an introduction to UNIDROIT and its work by Prof. Laya Joneidi of the University of Tehran. The Secretary-General delivered a lecture on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, their purposes, contents and practical use.

Dr. Behrooz Akhlaghi, a member of the Working Group that prepared the UNIDROIT Principles, and Dr. Quassem Zamani, who also contributed to the Persian translation, introduced the publication to the audience. Dr. Majid Poorostad, whom UNIDROIT had tasked with the Persian translation of the ALI/UNIDROIT Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure, in turn, introduced this publication to the public. Prof. Said Habibia delivered the closing remarks.

While in Iran, the Secretary-General was also received by H. E. Dr. Masoud Soltanifar, Vice-President and head of Iranˈs Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) and by H. E. Dr. Elham Amin Zadeh, Vice-President of Legal Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with whom he discussed aspects of the work of UNIDROIT of particular interest for the country. The Secretary-General, in addition, visited the University of Tehran and University of Judicial and Administrative Sciences in Tehran, and the University of Isfahan.

For more information about the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and the ALI/UNIDROIT Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure, see http://www.UNIDROIT.org/overview-principles-2010 and https://www.ali.org/publications/show/transnational-civil-procedure/ respectively.

Twenty years UNIDROIT Principles: A conference celebrating the twenty years of the UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts was held in Rome, 9 – 10 May 2014. The speakers dealt with The role of the UNIDROIT Principles in international contract practice (K.P Berger, F. Bortolotti, H. van Houtte); The UNIDROIT Principles and international investment contracts (P. Bernardini, G. Cordero-Moss, J. Kleinheisterkamp, A. Reinisch); The application of the UNIDROIT Principles in International Commercial arbitration (J. Bosco Lee, Y. Desains, H. Grigera Naon, H. Kronke, F. Mazza) and The UNIDROIT Principles as a means of interpreting domestic law (M. Bridge, M. Malaguti, R. Michaels, C. Ramberg). The acts of the Conference will be published in the Uniform Law Review.
>>> Conference Programme

Launch of Arabic version of 2010 UNIDROIT Principles: On 23-24 March 2014 a conference on the launch of the Arabic version of the 2010 UNIDROIT Principles was held at the Sultan Qaboos University of Muscat, Oman. The conference, which was held in English and Arabic, was supported by the Johns Hopkins University and The Protection Program, and organised in collaboration with the Sultan Qaboos University and UNIDROIT.
>>> Conference programme
>>> Photo

 

 

2013

On 18 January 2013 an international Symposium entitled “Assessing the CISG and Other International Endeavors to Unify International Contract Law: Has the Time Come for a New Global Initiative to Harmonize and Unify International Trade?” was organised at Villanova University School of Law (Pennsylvania, United States of America).  A. Veneziano  represented UNIDROIT and presented a paper on “Pros and Cons of the Soft Law Approach to the Unification of International Commercial Contract Law in the UNIDROIT Experience”. H. Gabriel also made a presentation on the subject entitled “UNIDROIT as a Source for Global Sales Law”. The Acts of the Symposium were published in the Villanova Law Review 2013, volume 58 number 4.

From 11 to 13 March 2013, A. Veneziano represented UNIDROIT at the 4th ASEAN Government Legal Officers Programme’s Workshop on the Harmonization of the Trade Laws of ASEAN Member States (Arbitration and International Sale of Goods) organised at the Attorney General’s Office in Singapore. After a general overview of UNIDROIT’s activities, she gave a talk on the practical application of the UNIDROIT Principles;

On 8 April 2013,  M.J. Bonell was invited to attend the 28th ICC/SIA Joint Symposium of Arbitrators in Paris entitled “Interpretation of the contract by arbitrators” and to present a paper on “Implied Terms, Good faith and Arbitration”. In this context he referred to the relevant provisions of the UNIDROIT Principles as well as to decisions rendered world-wide applying theses provisions.

On 13 May a group of Russian lawyers, accompanied by  A. Komarov, met at UNIDROIT. Presentations on the Institute´s Work Programme in general and on the UNIDROIT Principles in particular were made by M.J. Bonell and  A. Veneziano.

On 8 November a joint UNIDROIT/ICC-Italia/Associazione Italiana per l’Arbitrato Conference on “Innovative Solutions for the Choice of the Law Governing International Contracts” was held at UNIDROIT.  M.J. Bonell presented a paper on the newly adopted Model Clauses for the use of the UNIDROIT Principles, while  F. Bortolotti, Chairman of the ICC Commission on Commercial Law and Practice presented a paper on the ICC Model Contracts and the reference to the UNIDROIT Principles therein contained. The two presentations were followed by a Round Table discussion on “The growing acceptance of a-national solutions in international contracts, particularly by developing countries, chaired H.E. Ercüment Erdem, Vice-Chairman of the ICC Commission on Commercial Law and Practice, with the participation of A. Montanari (FATA), S. Catelani (DuPont de Nemours), E. Marcenaro (ENEL) and P. Galizzi (ENI).

On 28 and 29 November 2013 J.A. Estrella Faria and A. Veneziano participated  in the Workshop “Private Production of Transnational Law” organised at the European Law Institute in Florence, discussing, inter alia, the role of the UNIDROIT Principles as a source of law in international commercial contracts.

In the course of 2013 A. Veneziano gave two lectures on the UNIDROIT Principles: one on 12 June in the context of the Certificate Program on International Commercial Law and International Alternative Dispute Resolution – Pace Law School (on-line lecture) and another on 20 September in the context of the Master in Business and Company Law. European and international perspective at the LUISS University, Rome.

 

 

2012

A Colloquium on “A new transnational law of obligations? The UNIDROIT Principles 2010” was held on 3 February 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland and an international Symposium on “The UNIDROIT Principles 2010: Towards a ‘Global’ Law of International Commercial Contracts” was held on 17-18 February 2012 in Rome, Italy. >>> Programme

Furthermore, a Conference on “Principes d´UNIDROIT (2010) : Un outil indispensable dans la négociation et la rédaction de contrats commerciaux internationaux was held on 21 March 2012 at the Court of Appeal of Quebec in Montreal, under the patronage of the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Québec, the Hon. Nicole Duval Hesler. >>> Programme [link a: http://conferenceUNIDROITmontreal.wordpress.com/].

The Annual Colloquium of the Association Française des Docteurs en Droit on: “Les Principes d´UNIDROIT 2010 : une nécessité dans les contrats internationaux” [The UNIDROIT Principles 2010 : A necessity in International Contracts] was held at the Grand´Chambre of the Cour de Cassation in Paris (France) on 10 February 2012).

A Colloquium entitled Foro “Principios de UNIDROIT 2010” was organised by the Departamento de Derecho de los Negocios of the Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogotá and was aimed at lawyers and professionals working on contractual matters or with international arbitration. The colloquium was held on 10 April 2012 at the Universidad Externado de Colombia (Salón D-603) >>> Programme.

 

 

2011

On the occasion of a seminar for Russian lawyers held at UNIDROIT on 18 April 2011 and organised by Capital Business Events (UK), M.J. Bonell and A. Komarov presented the new edition of the UNIDROIT Principles.

On 24 May 2011 a seminar was held in Brussels at the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI) on the topic “UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (2010) and arbitration”, with presentations by M. Fontaine, J. Erauw, M. Piers, I. Claeys, D. Philippe and J. Kleinheisterkamp.

On 27 June 2011 at a Study Day in honour of G. Schiavoni, organised by the Milan Chamber of Arbitration, the President of UNIDROIT, A. Mazzoni, presented the new edition of the UNIDROIT Principles.

On 23-24 September 2011, on the occasion of the 32nd International Trade Law Symposium held in Canberra, Australia, D. Robertson and N. Ferreira-Jardim made a presentation on the harmonisation of international contract law and in this respect focussed on the UNIDROIT Principles.

On 28 October 2011 an international symposium on “The 2010 UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: Towards a ‘Global’ Contract Law” was hosted by the organised by the Center for Transnational Business and the Law at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Under the chairmanship of D. Wallace, presentations were made by M.J. Bonell, H.D. Gabriel, A. Garro, N.B. Cohen and the Secretary General of UNIDROIT J.A. Estrella-Faria, followed by a panel discussion with the participation of L. Gama, Jr., E. Brödermann, F. Dessemontet, G. Saumier, Justice B. Fried and M. Kirtland. >>> Programme

On 31 October 2011 the new edition of the UNIDROIT Principles was presented in Dubai by E. Brödermann at the breakfast organised by the Chinese European Arbitration Centre (CEAC) and the Chinese European Legal Association (CELA) on the occasion of the International Bar Association Annual Meeting.

On 8 November 2011, on the occasion of the International Colloquium on “Promoting Investment in Agricultural Production: Private Law Aspects” held at UNIDROIT, M.J. Bonell made a presentation on “International Investment Contracts and General Contract Law: A Place for the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts?”.

The UNIDROIT Principles were used as the governing law at the 10th Intercollegiate Negotiation Competition held in Tokyo on 4 and 5 December 2011 with the participation of about 250 students from leading Japanese, Australian and Chinese Universities.