Description

The seminar will give insights into “uniform law.” Some of the uniform law instruments, such as the CISG and Cape Town Convention, have achieved a remarkable success, while many others have attracted only small number of parties and have failed in harmonising the laws of the states. While international conventions have been a traditional means for unification, recent practice has relied much on non-binding instruments (soft law), i.e. model law, legal guide or Principles. The seminar will examine such issues as: how the meaning of uniform law has shifted in one hundred years since the emergence of uniform law movements; which type of uniform law instruments have the better prospect of success; and what can be done with the unification/harmonisation works in the future.

About The Speaker
Dr Souichirou Kozuka is Professor of Law at Gakushuin University, Tokyo. He specialises in commercial law, corporate law and maritime, air and space law. His recent publications in English include: “Japan’s Maritime Law Reform in an International and Regional Context”, Australia and New Zealand Maritime Law Journal, Vol.30, pp.125-133 (2016); “The Bifurcated World of Uniform Law: The Uniform law of ‘Islands’ and of ‘The Ocean’” in Unidroit (ed.), Eppur si muove: The Age of Uniform Law – Essays in honour of Michael Joachim Bonell to celebrate his 70th birthday (2016, Unidroit); and Souichirou Kozuka (ed.), Implementation of the Cape Town Convention and the Domestic Laws on Secured Transactions (2017, Springer). He is chair of the Space Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) for 2016 and 2017, correspondent of UNIDROIT (the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) and Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL).