UNIDROIT

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Context

• India’s Uma Sekhar was elected to the governing council of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) in an election.

UNIDROIT 

About

• UNIDROITis an intergovernmental organization whose objective is to harmonize private international law across countries through uniform rules, international conventions, and the production of model laws, sets of principles, guides and guidelines.

Origins

• Established in 1926 as part of the League of Nations, it was re-established in 1940 following the League's dissolution through a multilateral agreement, the UNIDROIT Statute.

Members

• As of 2023 UNIDROIT has 65 member states.

UNIDROIT’s Convention

• UNIDROIT has prepared multiple conventions (treaties), but has also developed soft law An example are the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts.
• Distinctly different from the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG)adopted by UNCITRAL, the UNIDROIT Principles do not apply as a matter of law, but only when chosen by the parties as their contractual regime.

Seat

• The seat of UNIDROIT is in Rome, Italy.

Membership

• Membership of UNIDROIT is restricted to States acceding to the UNIDROIT Statute.
• UNIDROIT’s 65 Member States are drawn from the five continents and represent a variety of different legal, economic and political systems as well as different cultural backgrounds. 

Funding

• The Institute is financed by annual contributions from its Member States which are fixed by the General Assembly.
• Extra-budgetary contributions may be made to fund specific projects or activities 

Structure

• UNIDROIT has an essentially three-tiered structure, made up of a Secretariat, a Governing Council and a General Assembly. The Secretariat is the executive organ of UNIDROIT responsible carrying out its Work Programmefrom day to day.
• It is headed by a Secretary-General appointed by the Governing Council on the nomination of the President of the Institute.
• The Secretary-General is assisted by a team of international civil servants and supporting staff.

Annual Reports on the activity of UNIDROIT

• The Governing Councilsupervises all policy aspects of the means by which the Institute’s statutory objectives are to be attained and in particular the way in which the Secretariat carries out the Work Programme drawn up by the Council. It is made up of one ex officio member, the President of the Institute, and 25 elected Members, mostly eminent judges, practitioners, academics and civil servants. The Governing Council is chaired by the President of the Institute who is a Member of the Council ex officio.
• The General Assembly is the ultimate decision-making organ of UNIDROIT: it votes the Institute’s Budget each year; it approves the Work Programmeevery three years; it elects the Governing Council every five years.
• It is made up of one representative from each member Government. The Presidency of the General Assembly is held, on a rotating basis and for one year, by the Ambassador of one of the Organisation’s member States.

Governing Council

• The Governing Council consists of 25 positions which are held by distinguished legal experts.

Languages

• The official languages of UNIDROIT are English, French, German, Italian and Spanish; its working languages are English and French.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Consider the following statements: 1. International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) aims to harmonize private international law across countries through uniform rules, international conventions, and the production of model laws, sets of principles, guides and guidelines. 2.The seat of UNIDROIT is Paris, France. 3.Membership of UNIDROIT is restricted to States acceding to the UNIDROIT Statute. Which of the above statements is/are incorrect? A) 1 and 3 only B) 2 only C) 3 only D) All Answer: B) 2 only

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Oman is a crucial pillar of India's West Asia Policy. Analyze.