On 10-11 May 2018, UNIDROIT participated in a two-day workshop for militaries on “Preserving Cultural Heritage for International Peace and Security” held in Rome (Italy) and organised by the Italian Center for Higher Defence Studies, the country’s highest-ranking study institution in the field of managerial training, and security and defense studies.

From left to right : Professor Samuel Hardy from the American University of Rome;
Professor Manlio Frigo from the University of Milan; UNIDROIT Senior Legal Officer and Treaty
Depositary, Ms Marina Schneider and Professor Deborah Scolart from Tor Vergata University of Rome.

The Aviation Working Group is inviting key stakeholders to attend an important Aviation Working Group (AWG) African regional event on the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol (CTC) and cross border transferability of aircraft (XBT). This AWG event is hosted by, and will be held in association with, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), with the support of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and UNIDROIT, in Cape Town on 19-20 June 2018.

-> Click here for the Programme.

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 UNIDROIT Governing Council met for its 97th session in Rome from 2-4 May 2018 to discuss the progress of its Work Programme. The Governing Council appointed Professor Ignacio Tirado as the new Secretary-General of the Institute.

The Report on the session will be published in due course.

-> Click here for more information on the meeting.

The third meeting of the Working Group on agricultural land investment contracts took place at UNIDROIT’s seat in Rome on 25-27 April 2018. The Working Group began by discussing recent developments, including the Secretariat’s presentation of the work at the World Bank’s Annual Land and Poverty Conference (Washington, 19-23 March 2018), as well as some general considerations in relation to the work (e.g. scope and key themes). The Working Group then reviewed in detail drafts for the chapters and issues identified in the draft in-progress outline of the future instrument on agricultural land investment contracts and considered, in connection with that review, various drafting issues to facilitate revisions (e.g. terminology to be used; the framing of guidance to be offered; the level of detail to be provided; and references to other instruments and sources). Lastly, the Working Group discussed next steps (e.g. remaining drafting and revising responsibilities; stakeholder engagement and consultations for input on the drafts; and the upcoming schedule for the work) and decided that the fourth meeting of the Working Group would be held at UNIDROIT’s seat in Rome on 9-11 October 2018.

-> Click here for more information on UNIDROIT’s work on agricultural land investment contracts.

Beirut, Lebanon: on 16-20 April 2018, UNIDROIT is participating in the “Training Program for Specialist Working to Deter Cultural Property Theft and the Illicit Trafficking of Antiquities” organised by UNESCO and funded by UNESCO's Heritage Emergency Fund. 

The Training Program aims to counter antiquities trafficking in the Levant by providing a distilled version of signature professional skills programme for governmental and academic heritage decision makers who work in destabilized source countries where illicit antiquities originate.

From left to right: ARCA Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lynda Albertson, UNESCO Beirut's Programme Officer for Culture, Mr Joseph Kreidi, and UNESCO consultant, Prof. Samer Abdel Ghafour.

On 10 April 2018 Argentina’s instrument 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. Argentina made declarations under Articles 39(1)(a), 39(1)(b), 39(4), 53 and 54(2) of the Convention, and under Articles XIX, XXX(1), XXX(2) and XXX(3) of the Aircraft Protocol. The Convention and the Aircraft Protocol will enter into force for Argentina on 1 August 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.