Henry Gabriel, a visiting professor at the Elon University School of Law who has served on the Governing Council of The International Institute for the Unification of Private International Law (UNIDROIT) since 2003, has been elected to another five-year term on the council.
UNIDROIT is an independent intergovernmental organization based in Rome. As stated on its web site, UNIDROIT’s purpose is to study needs and methods for modernizing, harmonizing and co-coordinating private and, in particular, commercial law between countries and groups of countries.
Established in 1926, it now has 61 member countries. The United States has been an active participating member of UNIDROIT since its founding. Along with its two sister organizations, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the Hague Conference on Private International Law, UNIDROIT produces most of the international commercial treaties and conventions that are in use throughout the world.
The Governing Council supervises all policy aspects of the Institute’s work. It consists of 25 elected members, typically eminent judges, practitioners, academics and civil servants who are elected by UNIDROIT member countries. Gabriel was the sole candidate from the United States, having been nominated by the U.S. Department of State.