UNIDROIT facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law

Abbreviation	UNIDROIT
Formation	1926
Type	intergovernmental Organization
Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Membership	65 States (2023)
Official language	English, French, Spanish, Italian, German
Secretary General	Professor Ignacio Tirado
President of the Governing Council	Professor Maria Chiara Malaguti
Website	https://www.unidroit.org/

UNIDROIT (which stands for the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) is an international organization that helps countries agree on rules for private law. Think of it like a team that works to make sure laws about things like buying and selling, or contracts between people from different countries, are similar. This makes it easier for businesses and individuals to work together across borders.

UNIDROIT was first set up in 1926 as part of the League of Nations. After the League ended, UNIDROIT was restarted in 1940. As of 2023, 65 countries are members of UNIDROIT.

UNIDROIT creates different kinds of legal tools. Some are like international agreements called conventions (or treaties), which countries can sign to make them official laws. Others are soft law instruments, like the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. These principles are like helpful guidelines that people can choose to use in their contracts, but they aren't strict laws unless everyone agrees to them. This is different from some other international laws, like the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which apply automatically in certain situations.

Where is UNIDROIT Located?

The main office of UNIDROIT is in Rome, Italy. It's located in a beautiful old building called the Villa Aldobrandini. This villa is a 17th-century (that's the 1600s!) princely home. It's right next to the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

How UNIDROIT Works

UNIDROIT has a special way of creating new legal rules and guidelines. It's a careful process that involves many steps and lots of experts.

Starting a New Project

When UNIDROIT decides to work on a new topic, its team first studies it carefully. They look at how different countries handle the issue and figure out if new rules are really needed and if they can actually be created. This study is then shown to the Governing Council, which is like UNIDROIT's main decision-making group. If the Council thinks it's a good idea, a special committee is formed to start writing a first draft of the new rules.

Getting Countries to Agree

Once a first draft is ready, the Governing Council reviews it. If it's a draft for a new international agreement (a convention), the Council usually asks for a group of government experts to meet. These experts, from different countries, work to finish the draft.

Representatives from all member countries can join these meetings. Other countries and international groups can also be invited to watch. When the draft is finished and everyone agrees, it's sent to a special meeting called a Diplomatic Conference. At this conference, countries can officially adopt the draft as an international convention.

Working with Other Organizations

UNIDROIT often works with other international groups. Three important organizations that work on private law are called "the three sisters": The Hague Conference on Private International Law, UNIDROIT, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). UNIDROIT also helps other organizations by doing research or writing drafts for their international agreements.

Network of Legal Experts

To do its job well, UNIDROIT needs to know about laws in many different countries. Since getting all this information can be hard, UNIDROIT has a network of special helpers. These helpers are lawyers and legal experts from both member and non-member countries. They are chosen by the Governing Council and share their legal knowledge, helping UNIDROIT stay updated on laws around the world.

Member Countries

UNIDROIT member countries as of May 2023

Countries become members of UNIDROIT by agreeing to its rules. As of 2023, there are 65 member countries:

Member country	Year of joining
Argentina	1972
Australia	1973
Austria	1948
Belgium	1940
Bolivia	1940
Brazil	1940
Bulgaria	1940
Canada	1968
Chile	1951
China	1986
Colombia	1940
Croatia	1996
Cuba	1940
Cyprus	1999
Czech Republic	1993
Denmark	1940
Egypt	1951
Estonia	2001
Finland	1940
France	1948
Germany	1940
Greece	1940
Holy See	1945
Hungary	1940
India	1950
Indonesia	2009
Iran	1951
Iraq	1973
Ireland	1940
Israel	1954
Italy	1940
Japan	1954
Latvia	2006
Lithuania	2007
Luxembourg	1951
Malta	1970
Mexico	1940
Mongolia	2023
Netherlands	1940
Nicaragua	1940
Nigeria	1964
Norway	1951
Pakistan	1964
Paraguay	1940
Poland	1979
Portugal	1949
Romania	1940
Russia (joined as  Soviet Union)	1990
San Marino	1945
Saudi Arabia	2009
Serbia (joined as  Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)	2001
Singapore	2023
Slovakia	1993
Slovenia	1995
South Africa	1971
South Korea	1981
Spain	1940
Sweden	1940
Switzerland	1940
Tunisia	1980
Turkey	1950
United Kingdom	1948
United States	1964
Uruguay	1940
Venezuela	1940

Some countries were members in the past but are not anymore. These include Ecuador (1940-1964), Lebanon (1958-1964), and Senegal (1991-1997). Also, some countries that no longer exist, like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, were once members.

UNIDROIT's Legal Tools

UNIDROIT creates different types of legal tools to help make private law more uniform around the world.

International Conventions

These are like formal agreements or treaties that countries can sign. Once a country signs and approves a convention, its rules become part of that country's laws. Here are some examples of conventions created by UNIDROIT:

• Rules for International Sale of Goods (The Hague, 1964)
• Rules for Making Contracts for International Sale of Goods (The Hague, 1964)
• International Convention on Travel Contracts (Brussels, 1970)
• Rules for International Wills (Washington, D.C., 1973)
• Rules for Agents in International Sale of Goods (Geneva, 1983)
• Rules for International Financial Leasing (Ottawa, 1988)
• Rules for International Factoring (Ottawa, 1988)
• UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (Rome, 1995) - This helps return stolen art and historical items.
• Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town, 2001) - This helps with financing big, movable things like:
  • Aircraft (2001)
  • Railway Rolling Stock (trains) (2007)
  • Space Assets (satellites) (2012)
  • Mining, Agricultural and Construction Equipment (2019)
• Geneva Securities Convention (Geneva, 2009)

UNIDROIT also keeps the official copies of some of its conventions, like the Cape Town Convention and the Geneva Securities Convention.

Non-Binding Guidelines (Soft Law)

Besides conventions, UNIDROIT also creates "soft law." These are rules or guidelines that countries don't have to follow strictly, but they can use them as inspiration. They are like helpful suggestions for how to make laws or contracts. Examples include:

• The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (updated in 1994, 2004, 2010, and 2016)
• Principles for how civil court cases should work across countries (2004)
• Model rules about who owns undiscovered cultural objects (2011)
• Guidelines for certain financial agreements (2013)
• A legal guide on contract farming (2015)
• Model European rules for civil court cases (2020)
• A legal guide for contracts about investing in farmland (2021)

See also

• Rome I Regulation
• Uniform act
• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
• World Trade Organization