Create a Law Davos
The purpose of the meeting was to present the Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development which was established in November 2011 in Washington DC by the World Bank. Mathieu Chardon, 1st secretary of the UIHJ attended the meeting. Also present were representatives from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of France, Department of European and International Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of France, research institutes, legal associations, as well as the Supreme Council of Notaries, magistrates and professors of law and economics.
Anne-Marie Leroy presented the legal department of the World Bank. This service includes 170 jurists. Ms Leroy said that the World Bank has been interested for several years in legal cooperation. For Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, "effective rules of law, including respect for property rights and access to justice, remain fundamental for sustainable development." The World Bank is particularly attentive in the following areas: family law, creditors' rights, banking and finance law, telecommunications law, jus soli, environmental law, questions of judicial reform and judicial systems.
Two years ago, the World Bank launched the idea of an international conference on law, justice and development. The interest the global legal community has expressed to this idea was truly wholehearted. If many networks exist, they remain too discreet. There is a lack of connection between them worldwide. The World Bank estimated it could be the link between these networks. Its mission is to generate innovative legal solutions to development challenges. Thus was born the idea of a Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development. The Forum was established at an international conference held from November 14 to 17, 2011 in Washington DC which proved very successful.
The Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development is a platform of knowledge and professional exchanges with two objectives:
- Promote a better understanding of the role of law and justice in the development process;
- Strengthen and better integrate the legal and judicial institutions in this process.
The World Bank intends to support a research and development program that will develop with all the project partners: universities, research centres, networks of experts and practitioners. The challenge is to create a true "Law Davos."
Three Goals For 2012
The construction of an electronic platform for information and communication of knowledge would allow the Forum to take advantage of the many legal resources and development of the World Bank and to take advantage of its international influence to attract intellectual contributions of leaders of developing countries and universities.
Anne-Marie Leroy mentioned her three goals for 2012:
- Extend the network, particularly in the South, Africa, and Latin America;
- Ensure that the portal is operational by the end of the year;
- Establish a trust fund attracting donors to enable the network to function by being more independent of the World Bank. The network should be the network of its members, not of the World Bank.
"The network has been designed very flexible, continued the vice-president of the Legal Department of the World Bank. Any institution that is interested in law and is ready to invest in development issues is welcome. "
On commitment, in-kind contributions are expected from intellectual partner. These contributions can include intellectual work, research, providing facilities for workshops, events...
The network will be a portal. It will include a database of databases in as many languages as possible, the members network (blogs, wikis, discussion forums, online collaborations), communities of practice (sub-platforms with smart web-enabled tools for knowledge creation and exchange), and online training.
The meeting participants were particularly enthusiastic about Anne-Marie Leroy's presentation. Concrete proposals for assistance arose spontaneously. Exchanges and contacts were made... The Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development is already underway. The UIHJ intends to participate actively.
