The World Bank holds its annual Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development

Ninety-seven partners have joined the initiative in Washington DC, from 10 to 14 December 2012. The partners consist of International organizations, financial institutions, universities, and many others. The Global Forum on Law and Justice Development allows these partners to come together to discuss solutions for many of the world's problems surrounding law, justice and equity in developing countries.

The UIHJ was represented by Sue Collins (USA), member of the board of the UIHJ, and by Jos Uitdehaag, first secretary. The theme of the forum was: “Opportunity, Inclusion and Equity”. Parallel discussion groups were held during the week on several different subjects including: Environment & Natural Resource Law, Insolvency and Creditor Rights, International Law, Internet & Communications Technology Law, Justice for the Poor, Law and Justice Institutions, Legal Harmonization Initiatives, Privatization & the Law, Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Resource Center, and Regulation of Financial Markets, Systems and Infrastructure. There was also an India Day that explored recent initiatives in India aimed at advancing social economic rights.

Anne-Marie Leroy, Senior Vice-President of the World Bank, welcomed attendees at the opening session. Keynote speaker at the opening session was Hernando de Soto President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy.

Some of the sessions and topics were of particular interest to the UIHJ. The first was: “How to Capitalize on the Political Consensus from the (UN) General Assembly's High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law”. On the 24th of September 2012, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its first ever High-level Meeting on the rule of law at the national and international levels. For the first time, 193 Member States agreed in the Declaration on definitional elements of the rule of law. This section declared it imperative for countries to build on this unprecedented consensus and political commitment, and to turn it into actual gains for a stronger rule of law, both nationally and internationally.

The second topic of interest to the UIHJ included a section titled “International Organizations and the Development of the Law of Secured Transactions”. This was a joint session by The Hague Convention, UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT and the World Bank. This section provided an opportunity to understand the specific mandates of each organization. Each of these organizations has contributed to the development of private law through their work on secured transactions. Both developed and developing countries have benefited from the consensus of these organizations on aspects of private law.

The next section of particular interest was titled: “The Treatment of the Insolvency of Natural Persons”. This open session presented the issues included in the report on the treatment of the insolvency of natural persons, which has been the focus of attention of the World Bank Insolvency Task Force for more than a year.

The consensus is that the increase in access to finance around the world, the conditions of economic crisis, and the general evolution of the economy and society have increased the importance of designing modern policies for effectively dealing with the problem of personal over-indebtedness. The idea of a fresh-start policy in personal insolvency is perceived as an efficient way of promoting entrepreneurship and avoiding the loss of valuable economic and human resources to society as a whole.

The World Bank's Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development is held annually in Washington DC.