The new Enhanced Cooperation Agreement will support joint initiatives examining the impact of UNIDROIT instruments across key areas of transnational commercial and financial law in Asia.
The Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL) at the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong (HKU Law), and the UNIDROIT Asian Transnational Law Centre (ATLC) have signed an Enhanced Cooperation Agreement to deepen their collaboration on transnational commercial law in Asia.
Building on the Memorandum of Understanding signed by UNIDROIT and HKU in 2020, the new agreement provides a framework for joint initiatives between AIIFL and the ATLC. These initiatives will examine and promote the impact of UNIDROIT instruments in Asia, with particular attention to access to credit, financial markets, international contracts, investment law, digital technology and sustainable development.
The agreement was signed in person on the HKU campus in Hong Kong by ATLC Co-Director William Brydie-Watson and AIIFL Director Professor Giuliano Castellano .
The signing was accompanied by the inaugural AIIFL–ATLC Seminar, titled Trade and Finance in the Digital Age: UNIDROIT’s Role and Future Work. Organised as part of the ATLC’s ongoing Seminar Series, the event brought together scholars and practitioners to consider the role of UNIDROIT instruments in responding to developments in international trade and finance.
The seminar featured presentations by Professor Henry Gabriel of Elon University, Professor Megumi Hara of Chuo University, Professor Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Professor James Si Zeng and Professor Giuliano G. Castellano of HKU Law, and William Brydie-Watson of UNIDROIT.
Together, the presentations examined UNIDROIT’s work in international commercial contracts, access to credit, digital assets and cross-border enforcement. The seminar marked the first initiative associated with the enhanced cooperation between AIIFL and the ATLC, providing a substantive foundation for their continuing work on the development and application of transnational commercial law in Asia.
