Context: India’s Candidate Uma Sekhar was elected to the governing council of the Rome-based International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). 

India’s Triumph at UNIDROIT: Ms. Uma Sekhar Elected to Governing Council of UNIDROIT

• Tenure: She is India’s first woman candidate for the governing council of International Institute for the Unification of Private Law for the period 2024-28.
• In the election for the seat at governing council, she won with an impressive 45 out of 59 votes. 
  • Only 21 votes are needed to be declared elected in the council. 

What is UNIDROIT?

• Origin: Set up in 1926 as an auxiliary organ of the League of Nations.
  • Following the demise of the League,  the Institute was re-established in 1940 on the basis of a multilateral agreement, the UNIDROIT Statute.
• Membership: Membership  of UNIDROIT is restricted to States acceding to the UNIDROIT Statute. 
  • UNIDROIT’s 65 Member States represent a variety of different legal, economic and political systems as well as different cultural backgrounds.
  • India has been a member of UNIDROIT  since 1950.
• UNIDROIT is an independent intergovernmental organization  that deals with international legal issues related to international legal frameworks and modernizing commercial and private laws.
• Funding:  It is financed by annual contributions from its Member States which are fixed by the General Assembly.
• Core Mission: To study needs and methods for modernizing, harmonizing and coordinating international law in the field of private and commercial law and to formulate uniform law instruments, principles and rules to achieve those objectives.
• Governance:
  • Secretariat: It  is the executive organ of UNIDROIT responsible for carrying out its Work Programme from day to day.
  • General Assembly: It is the ultimate decision-making organ of UNIDROIT and  votes on the Institute’s Budget each year.
  • Council: Governing Council consists of 25 positions which are held by distinguished legal experts from different countries for a period of 5 years.

Source: Economic Times