The 2025 season of the UNIDROIT International Programme for Law and Development (IPLD) concluded in Rome on 25 September with the successful completion of the Balkans, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, and Caucasus (BEPCAC) edition.
At the closing session held at UNIDROIT headquarters, participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan presented their individual roadmaps and aspirations for applying UNIDROIT’s instruments and the knowledge gained during the Programme to their respective national contexts. Their reflections highlighted both the diversity of the participating countries and a shared vision of how harmonized legal frameworks can support sustainable development, investment, and cooperation across regions and jurisdictions.
Held over an intensive three-week period, the BEPCAC Programme combined one week of online learning with two weeks of in-person training in Rome. It brought together legal professionals, academics, and policymakers for an immersive experience focused on how law can drive good governance and sustainable development.
The participants engaged in a rich schedule of seminars and workshops led by UNIDROIT Legal Officers and distinguished external experts. Sessions explored UNIDROIT’s key instruments for the progressive unification and harmonization of private law, equipping participants with the practical understanding needed to apply these tools at the national level. The Programme also included a study visit to the Italian Constitutional Court, providing participants with first-hand insights into judicial practice in Italy.
Throughout the Programme, the BEPCAC cohort transformed shared learning into meaningful collaboration. Regional synergies and shared priorities emerged during group exercises and discussions, while individual projects showcased how UNIDROIT’s legal instruments could be integrated into specific national legal systems.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Mr. Federico Pucillo of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) emphasized the Programme’s forward-looking and practical nature:
“The aim is to go beyond simple theory and engage with concrete tools and real cases of how conventions are implemented, how model laws are adopted, and how principles translate into everyday practice.”
A Season of Global Reach and Impact
With the conclusion of the BEPCAC edition, UNIDROIT marks the end of the fourth cycle of the IPLD Programme, which this year featured two regional tracks: Africa Plus and BEPCAC. Together, these editions trained 40 legal professionals from across Africa, Europe, and Asia, strengthening the foundations for legal harmonization, economic integration, and policy coherence across diverse jurisdictions.
These achievements have been made possible through the support and collaboration of the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, whose vision continues to guide UNIDROIT’s efforts to promote equitable and effective legal systems worldwide.
As the 2025 season comes to a close, UNIDROIT extends its sincere appreciation to all participants for their engagement, dedication, and team spirit. Their contributions reaffirm the Programme’s core objective – to foster dialogue, innovation, and cooperation among legal systems in pursuit of sustainable development.
Meet the 2025 Africa Plus cohort Meet the 2025 BEPCAC cohort
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.