On 15 April 2016, over 80 participants representing UNIDROIT Member States, Rome-based UN Agencies, Private Practices and Academic Institutions alike gathered in the historical Map Room of the seat of UNIDROIT for the opening Event of the Celebration Series of the 90th Anniversary of the Foundation of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). Hosted in cooperation with the Italian Society for International Organisation (SIOI), the event featured a Keynote Lecture delivered by Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel. The Lectio Magistralis was introduced by Professor Alberto Mazzoni (President of UNIDROIT) and Mr Franco Frattini (President of SIOI), and was followed by a round table composed of distinguished experts: Judge Fausto Pocar, of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, Professor Sergio Carbone, of the University of Genoa, and Professor Piero Bernardini, President of the Italian Arbitration Association (AIA).
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| Alberto Mazzoni (President, UNIDROIT) and Franco Frattini (President, SIOI) |
Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares delivering his keynote lecture |
Shot of the seated audience |
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.