The ninth annual conference of the Cape Town Convention Academic Project took place at the UNIDROIT Headquarters in Rome between 10 – 11 September 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the meeting was held in hybrid format, with 16 participants present at the Institute and over 400 registered remote participants.
This year’s conference was opened by UNIDROIT’s newly elected President, Professor Maria Chiara Malaguti, followed by the Directors of the Cape Town Academic Project, Professor Ignacio Tirado, Professor Louise Gullifer, and Professor Jeffrey Wool. Among other themes, the Conference sought to address how the Cape Town Convention System was reacting to the current COVID-19 crisis.
On day one, Professor Ignacio Tirado (UNIDROIT) addressed the EU insolvency system and the Cape Town Convention, commentated by Dr Felix Steffek (University of Cambridge); Kenneth Gray and Mark Craggs (Norton Rose Fulbright) spoke of the Cape Town Convention and the Aircraft Protocol, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act of the United Kingdom and other restructuring laws, commentated by Professor Louise Gullifer (University of Cambridge) and Professor Edward Janger (Brooklyn Law School); Professor Jeffrey Wool (Harris Manchester College) and Miguel Ruelas (Abogados Sierra) presented on Judicial Breach of the Cape Town Convention, commentated by Dr Rumiana Yotova (University of Cambridge); and Baris Mesci (Istanbul Kültür University) delivered a presentation on the issue of Applicable Law in Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol.
Day two featured a panel on Compliance with the Cape Town Convention in the context of COVID-19 and an update of the Cape Town Convention Compliance Index with Professor Jeffrey Wool and Jasmine Jin (Blake, Cassels, & Graydon, Toronto), commentated by Professor Ignacio Tirado (UNIDROIT); a presentation by Peter Watson (Allen & Overy) on a Judicial guide to the Cape Town Convention; and a panel on the MAC International Registry featuring Rob Cowan (Aviareto), Ole Böger (Ministry of Justice, Germany), Marek Dubovec (NatLaw), Gavin McCosker (Australian Financial Security Authority).
The Cape Town Convention Academic Project is a partnership between UNIDROIT and the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, with the Aviation Working Group as the Founding Sponsor. The Conference was sponsored by RNC Legal, Sierra, Blakes, Holland & Knight, and Clifford Chance.