Private International Law is the legal framework composed of conventions, protocols, model laws, legal guides, uniform documents, case law, practice and custom, as well as other documents and instruments, which regulate relationships between individuals in an international context. The [OAS] through the Secretariat for Legal Affairs (SLA), plays a central role in the harmonization and codification of Private International Law in the Western Hemisphere.

The principal component of this work in the Inter-American context, are the Specialized Conferences on Private International Law, which the OAS recurrently hosts approximately every four to six years.

Known for its acronym in Spanish as CIDIP, these Conferences have produced 26 international instruments (including conventions, protocols, uniform documents and model laws), which shape the Inter-American Private Law framework. The first of these Conferences, [CIDIP-I], was held in Panama City, Panama in 1975. The most recent Conference, [CIDIP-VI], was held at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 2002. The first half of [CIDIP-VII] took place October 7-9, 2009, where the Model Registry Regulations under the Model Inter-American Law on Secured Transactions were adopted.