On December 4, 2023, Secretary-General Ignacio Tirado and Senior Legal Officer William Brydie-Watson of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) visited the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE). Secretary-General Tirado and Mr. Brydie-Watson, representing the international organization based in Rome, were welcomed by Huang Baoyin, secretary of the CPC Committee of UIBE. The meeting was also attended by UIBE Vice President Hong Junjie, Director Li Xiaomeng from the International Office, as well as Dean Mei Xiaying, Associate Dean Gong Hongliu, and Professor Ji Wenhua from UIBE Law School.

Secretary Huang Baoyin met with Secretary-General Tirado and the UNIDROIT delegation.

Following the introductory meeting, Secretary-General Tirado and the UNIDROIT delegation proceeded to UIBE Law School for a special lecture. They were warmly welcomed by Dean Mei Xiaying, Associate Dean Gong Hongliu, Professor Ji Wenhua, Professor Chen Weidong, Associate Professor Li Fenghua, and other faculty representatives. Over twenty participants, including international moot court team members from the Vis Moot, FDI Moot, and Jessup, undergraduate students from the Experimental Class for Outstanding Legal Talents in International Business and Economics and post-graduate students, actively engaged in this high-level international exchange event.

Secretary-General Tirado and the UNIDROIT delegation visited UIBE Law School

The lecture began with a welcome speech by Dean Mei Xiaying. In his speech, Dean Mei emphasized that UNIDROIT, as an important international legal organization, plays an active role in promoting the international harmonization of private law. UIBE Law School has had close cooperation with UNIDROIT over the years, including visiting professors for study and students for internships. Moreover, UIBE Law School professors have held important positions such as Council member and Correspondent of the UNIDROIT for China. The visit of Secretary-General Tirado and the UNIDROIT delegation is high recognition of the academic and talent development of UIBE Law School. UIBE Law looks forward to further strengthening cooperation with UNIDROIT, enhancing the influence of the organization and its instruments through joint projects and international conferences, and promoting the continuous upgrading of UIBE Law's disciplinary construction in internationalized high-level operations to achieve high-quality development.

As the organizer of this high-level international exchange event, Professor Ji Wenhua from UIBE Law presided over the lecture and provided insightful comments. Professor Ji is currently appointed as the "Correspondent of the UNIDROIT for China" by the UNIDROIT Council.

Secretary-General Tirado expressed gratitude for the warm invitation from UIBE Law School. He particularly pointed out that UIBE was the first Chinese university to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with UNIDROIT. Based on the fruitful cooperation, he looked forward to further strengthening and expanding cooperation with UIBE in talent development and legal research.

Secretary-General Tirado delivered a special lecture on "The Role of UNIDROIT in the Harmonization of International Private Law and Supporting Economic Growth and Development." He first introduced the history, objectives, operations, and achievements of UNIDROIT, providing a detailed explanation of its instruments and operations. Through specific examples, he elaborated on the important role of UNIDROIT's legislative achievements in promoting economic and trade development among countries and supporting economic growth. He also made suggestions for China's active participation and leadership in the international harmonization of private law in related emerging fields.

Mr. Brydie-Watson, Senior Legal Officer of UNIDROIT, gave an introduction to UNIDROIT’s ongoing Academic Projects on behalf of the UNIDROIT delegation. He elaborated the application procedures and required capacities for visitation study, internships, and research cooperation in detail and answered student’s questions patiently. As the person in charge of UNIDROIT’s internship program, Mr. Brydie-Watson specially gave high compliments on the outstanding performance of several alumni from UIBE, including Liu Tianshu, Chen Yuting, Wu Aijie, Yuan Duo, and Lu Yige, who successfully completed their internships at the UNIDROIT Secretariat in Rome. He further elaborated on the application process for UNIDROIT Research and Internship Programme, encouraging faculty and students to actively apply for relevant programs.

Associate Dean of Law School, Associate Professor Gong Hongliu, reviewed the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between UNIDROIT and UIBE Law School since 2017, emphasizing that such cooperation has great importance to the internationalization of students’ abilities and horizons. When introducing the internationalizing training Programme of UIBE Law School, she specifically mentioned the outstanding performance of UIBE students in international moot court competitions, for instance, Vis Moot, Jessup, JHJ and FDI Moot, as well as the mooters’ successful experience in applying for internships and positions in international organizations such as UNIDROIT. Associate Dean Gong also expressed her expectation for continued cooperation between UIBE and UNIDROIT in the future.

During the Q&A session, Ms. Sun Jiaxuan and Mr. Ling Fanghao, both LL.M students of International Law Class of 2023 and outstanding members of the FDI International Arbitration Moot Competition team, actively participated by raising questions. Sun Jiaxuan inquired about how the soft law instruments of UNIDROIT could contribute to the harmonization of international investment law in the context of the current reform of international investment dispute settlement mechanism. Ling Fanghao sought guidance on the efforts made and rules established in the drafting process of UNIDROIT's "Legal Guide on Agricultural Land Investment Contracts" in addressing foreign land investment issues. Secretary-General Tirado expressed appreciation for these specialized questions and provided detailed answers respectively.

Professor Ji Wenhua expressed gratitude during the concluding session for the visit and insightful lectures given by Professor Tirado and Mr. Brydie-Watson. He expressed anticipation and belief that Chinese scholars and students will play a more active role in the future work of UNIDROIT. The lecture was successfully concluded with warm applause.

English Translations: Sun Jiaxuan, Ling Fanghao

Editing: Arthur Chiu

Photography: Zou Wei