On September 26th and 27th the Department of International Law and the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) will be co-hosting a virtual meeting of the Legal Advisors on Private International Law within the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the OAS. The topics for discussion include Contracts between Merchants with a Contractually Weak Party and the HCCH 1996 Convention on International Child Protection as well as open discussion on strategies for the OAS to resume its activities in the area of codification and progressive development of private international law.

September 28th is the launch of UNCITRAL LAC Days 2022, a series of activities organized by universities and academic institutions throughout the region. This year the central theme is Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and their legal challenges, including simplified incorporation and registration, access to credit, insolvency, and creating an enabling legal environment. This initiative by the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is being carried out in partnership with ASADIP* and with support of the OAS Department of International Law and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA). Readers may review the agenda here and register for the inaugural event.

The 5th International Coordination of Secured Transactions Reforms Conference will take place October 4th and 5th and is being hosted by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), in partnership with the other members of the Joint Network Executive Committee: UNCITRAL, the World Bank Group, the Kozolchyk National Law Centre (NatLaw) and the OAS. As on previous occasions, the conference will bring together experts from intergovernmental organisations, international financial institutions, non-governmental organisations, regional organisations, government agencies that are active in the development and implementation of secured transactions and related commercial law reforms. Readers may review agenda topics and those interested in attending in person or remotely should email STCC5@unidroit.org.

During the week of October 24th – 28th, Asunción-Paraguay will host the XXI General Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL), being organized at the local level by the Center for the Study of Law, Economy and Politics (CEDEP). This event will include workshops and round tables on issues including sustainable development, impacts of climate change, access to justice, human rights, Fintech, artificial intelligence, regulation of “fake news”, contemporary forms of slavery, among others. In parallel, the American Association of Private International Law (ASADIP) and the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL) will hold their annual meetings and the Latin American Arbitration Conference will hold a special session on investment arbitration.

All the programming is available at the website.

The Department of International Law participants in these and other similar activities in furtherance of the OAS General Assembly mandate to continue working in cooperation with other international organizations involved in the field of private international law and to promote its development and greater dissemination.

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