Workshop:
Private International Law and Regional Integration
Research Project: Private International Law and the Development of Integrated Markets: A Cross-Regional Collaboration
Report by SebastiánParedes
The Workshop‘Private International Law (PrIL) and regional integration’ took place onOctober 29that the Law School of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul(UFRGS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil.This international event was organised by the Research Project “Private International Law and the Development of Integrated Markets: A Cross-Regional Collaboration” (2014-2017)supported by a British Academy International Partnership and Mobility awardto Dr. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm (University of Edinburgh) as the principal investigator and Prof. Maria Blanca NoodtTaquela(Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina)) as co-investigator.
The event was organised under the auspices of the UFRGS and the American Association of Private International Law (ASADIP) on the afternoon before its annual Summit VIII Jornadas ASADIP 2014.
After the opening and welcome words by Dr.Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm (University of Edinburgh) the activities began with a brief review of the Project’ goals. After that,there were two panels sessionswherescholars from the Latin American region discussed thesubjects scheduled in the agenda. The two panels were focused on the following themes, in turn: ‘PrIL as a facilitator of regional development’ and ‘PrIL’s facilitator role and its relationship with PrIL harmonisation’.
The speakerswere: José Angelo EstrellaFaria (Secretary-General, UNIDROIT), María Blanca NoodtTaquela (Universidad de Buenos Aires andBelgrano), Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm (University of Edinburgh), Cecilia Fresnedo de Aguirre (Universidad de la República, Uruguay), Guillermo Argerich (Universidad de Buenos Aires), Mercedes Albornoz (CIDE, Mexico), FabrícioBertiniPasquotPolido (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais ofBelo Horizonte, Brazil) andSebastiánParedes (Universidad de Buenos Aires).
PrILtopics like international contracts law, applicable law in international commercial arbitration, international judicial co-operation, international private law codification and the importance of an effective development on integrated markets were debated.
Open discussions followed the presentations with very interesting insights between co-directors, speakers and attendees in a warm and pleasant environment that counted with the participation of students, young scholars and illustriousPrILexpertslikeMr. Didier OperttiBadán(President of Honourof ASADIP), the former Secretary general of the Hague Conference on Private International LawMr. Hans van Loon,and Professor ofUFRGSMrs.Cláudia Lima Marques.
PrILthemessuch as methodological pluralism, the role of party-autonomy and the human personaeas the center of regulations, the need for codification and approaches by national and regional parliaments or different fora like UNIDROIT and UNCITRAL, were not only examined but also envisaged for possible developments in the near future.
The goals and perspectives of the Research Project “Private International Law and the Development of Integrated Markets: A Cross-Regional Collaboration” were analysed with suggestions, evaluative and critical and perspectives by José Moreno Rodríguez (President of ASADIP), Eugenio Hernández-Bretón (Universidad Central de Venezuela), Jorge Tálice (Universidad de la República, Uruguay), Didier OperttiBadán y José Angelo EstrellaFariaamongst many others.
To close this international event Dr.Ruiz Abou-NigmandProf.NoodtTaquelaunderlined the importance to improve ‘mutual trust’ and international judicial co-operation between different PrIL frameworks and the possibility to facilitate the development of integrated markets throughcross-regional collaboration. They praised Dr.Operttiwords when quoting the late eminent Argentine PrIL Professor Werner Goldschmidt, when he said that today more than ever PrIL must be seen as the ‘Derecho de la tolerancia’- “Law of Tolerance”.
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