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Balancing
hard law and soft law
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| Rome
- the setting for next month's "Hard Law/Soft Law" meeting |
Rome,
28 April 2004 -
Top international lawyers will meet in Rome next month to discuss how
best to further a uniform legal framework for international business contracts.
Convened by ICC Italy,
the Italian Arbitration Association and the International Institute for
the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), the conference will examine
the roles of hard law (rules imposed by governments) and soft law (private-sector
business rules) in cross-border commerce.
Experts will also
consider where the balance between these two kinds of legal instruments
should lie in order to establish an effective legal system for international
business.
Fabio Bortolotti,
a partner at the law firm Lexjus - Buffa, Bortolotti & Mathis and
Chair of the ICC Commission on Commercial Law and Practice (CLP), stressed
the relevance and timeliness of the "Hard Law/Soft Law" conference
for both the legal and business communities.
"All business
people engaged in international commerce are faced with the question of
which rules should govern their transactions," he said.
"The increasing
global flow of goods and services, new technologies and business models
have brought business people and lawmakers to a crossroads. Key decisions
need to be made about what should be the guiding principles when shaping
tomorrow's framework for international trade."
The current framework
for international contracts is based on a mixture of hard and soft legal
instruments including international conventions, model laws, general principles
or rules for incorporation into individual contracts, model contracts,
case law and arbitral awards.
ICC's Commission on
Commercial Law and Practice has played a significant role in the creation
of many of these trade rules including Incoterms 2000 and ICC model clauses
and contracts.
Jernej Sekolec, secretary
of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL),
and one of the speakers at the "Hard Law/Soft Law" event, called
for an assessment of the efficacy of today's rules.
"We must ask
how effective these different types of instruments have been to the global
business community as a means to overcome differences in national laws
and legal systems," Mr Sekolec said.
"It will be interesting
to discuss with both developers and users of these rules how the various
institutions involved in the field of international commercial law can
best work together to promote cross-border commerce."
The conference will
be held on 27 May at UNIDROIT headquarters in Rome. Founded in 1926 under
the then League of Nations, UNIDROIT is an independent intergovernmental
organization dedicated to the harmonization of private law between states.
ICC's Commission on
Commercial Law and Practice will hold its biannual meeting at the same
venue on 28 May. The agenda will cover legal issues affecting international
business including electronic contracting, outsourcing, agency and distributorship,
UNIDROIT principles, international legal harmonization, software licensing,
turnkey transactions and jurisdiction and applicable law issues.
Programme
for the 27 May Hard Law / Soft Law Conference
Agenda
for the 28 May CLP Commission meeting
Registration
form for both events
For registration,
further information or interviews contact Jonas Astrup, ICC Policy Manager,
Click here to send a mail.">Click here to send a mail. +33 1 49 53 28 26.
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