Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL), HKU

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HKU Law & UNIDROIT Day

HKU Faculty of Law - AIIFL | UNIDROIT

Date & Time Wednesday, 6 November 2024 4:50-6:15 pm (HKT)
Duration 1:25
Location Faculty of Law, Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong
New update Recording available

General Introduction and The UNIDROIT Principles and International Commercial Contracts: Implications for Hong Kong (Presented by Professor Anna Veneziano, Deputy Secretary-General of UNIDROIT)

The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) is an independent intergovernmental organisation that was originally established in 1926 under the auspices of the League of Nations. Almost 100 years old, UNIDROIT currently consists of 65 Member States and 116 Connected States, representing 74% of the world population and over 90% of global nominal GDP. UNIDROIT’s objective is to develop modern international standards for commercial and private law.

The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts were first released in 1994, with expanded editions published in 2004, 2010, and most recently in 2016. Consisting of 211 Articles, these principles help harmonise international commercial contract law by providing rules supplementing international instruments and national laws. They also offer a neutral contractual regime which parties can choose to incorporate into their contracts.

The UNIDROIT Academy and Internship and Scholarship Opportunities at UNIDROIT (Presented by William Brydie-Watson, Senior Legal Officer of UNIDROIT)

The UNIDROIT Academy was established to adopt a unified approach to the many interrelated non-legislative, academic activities that underpin the general mandate of UNIDROIT. The Academy is also a tool to facilitate UNIDROIT’s legislative activities, as well as a mechanism to promote the implementation and dissemination of UNIDROIT’s work. UNIDROIT further co-operates with academic institutions worldwide by offering different initiatives that facilitate opportunities for legal professionals at various stages of their careers to work or conduct research at UNIDROIT.

Welcoming Remarks

Professor Shahla Ali

Professor, Faculty of Law

About the Speakers

Professor Anna Veneziano

Deputy Secretary-General of UNIDROIT; (AIIFL Fellowship: 6 November 2024)

Anna Veneziano’s main research and publication areas are international, comparative, and European contract and sales law, as well as secured transactions. She represented UNIDROIT in the drafting of the Tripartite Guide on uniform contract law and was Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the ELI-UNIDROIT European Rules of Civil Procedure project. Before joining UNIDROIT, she was a member of the restricted Expert Group set up by the European Commission on a common European law on sales.

William Brydie-Watson

Senior Legal Officer & ATLC Co-Director, International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) (AIIFL Fellowship: 26-28 November 2025)

William Brydie-Watson specializes in international instruments related to access to credit and secured transactions law. He is also the Co-Director of the UNIDROIT Asian Transnational Law Centre and the manager of the UNIDROIT Scholarship, Internship and Research Programme. Previously, he was a Legal Officer in the Private International Law section of the Australian Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and worked on the implementation of private international law treaties in Australia.

Chair

Professor Giuliano Castellano

Director of AIIFL, and Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong