Rome, 16 June 2025 – UNIDROIT officially inaugurated the residential session of the fourth edition of its flagship International Programme for Law and Development: IPLD Africa Plus, during a ceremony held at its historic headquarters in Villa Aldobrandini. The event welcomed members of the Rome-based diplomatic corps, representatives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and distinguished international legal experts.
The ceremony marked the beginning of a three-week intensive legal training session, during which participants will explore UNIDROIT’s core legal instruments and their application within African legal systems. Selected through a highly competitive process, the 2025 group of participants brings together professionals from 15 African countries, representing a broad spectrum of legal systems and institutional backgrounds.
Funded by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the IPLD aims to strengthen legal capacity through a comprehensive engagement with UNIDROIT instruments, including conventions, model laws, and legal guides. This year’s edition benefits from a significant increase in Italian support, as highlighted by Dott. Federico Pucillo of the DGCS, who addressed participants with these words:
“In the past few years, our financial support for this programme has more than doubled. It is a clear sign of the importance we place on legal capacity building in Africa. This enhanced funding guarantees access to high-quality materials and a comprehensive course and provides the resources to engage fully with both theoretical and practical aspects of private international law.”
He also commended UNIDROIT’s contribution to legal harmonisation and fostering international cooperation:
“Let me applaud UNIDROIT for delivering this course centred on the harmonisation and voluntary diffusion of common standards in private law. By focusing on these themes, the programme also serves as a tool for juridical diplomacy, strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between nations, contributing to economic growth, capacity-building and skills development.”
UNIDROIT Secretary-General, Professor Ignacio Tirado, expanded on this notion, emphasising the long-term value of the relationships being formed:
“You came as jurists, but you will leave as ambassadors – ambassadors of UNIDROIT, and we will give you the credentials. You help us create a lasting network of professionals across the continent.”
Deputy Secretary-General, Professor Anna Veneziano, concluded the opening with a reflection on the programme’s growing impact:
“This programme owes its success to the commitment of its participants, who remain actively engaged as members of our alumni community. We are especially proud to announce the launch of a new regional edition in September 2025, extending the programme’s reach to the Balkans, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.”
The day concluded with a dynamic seminar delivered by Professor Tirado, entitled UNIDROIT and the Harmonisation of International Private Law. Structured as an open dialogue rather than formal lecture, his presentation provided participants with an insightful introduction to the Organisation’s mission and role in shaping legal cooperation and global impact, setting the tone for what promises to be a transformative learning journey.
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.