Cape Town Convention Academic Project - 5th Annual Conference

The 5th Annual Conference of the Cape Town Convention Academic Project was held on 13 and 14 September 2016 at the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford.  The Project is a joint undertaking between the Oxford Law Faculty and the University of Washington School of Law, with aspects also being undertaken under the auspices of UNIDROIT.  The Project’s purpose is to facilitate the study and assessment of the Cape Town Convention (CTC) and to advance its aims. 

This year’s conference started with a highly topical session focusing on an assessment of ratifications in the European Union to date, and the implications of Brexit on the UK ratification.  This was followed by an open discussion of a framework for an economic assessment of the CTC protocols, which generated some very interesting debate.

The first afternoon session provided a comparison of the registry provisions in the three CTC Protocols (Aircraft, Rail and Space), involving particular discussion of identification of objects, as well as variations in relation to multiple entry points and supervisory authorities.  The day concluded with an evaluation of the legal and practical arguments for and against a shipping protocol, followed by the conference dinner at Harris Manchester College.

The morning of the second day comprised two sessions on the insolvency provisions: the first being a hypothetical case study applying article XI alternative A of the Aircraft Protocol, and the second being an open discussion on the CTC and cross-border insolvency.  Both sessions generated interesting and lively debate.  After an update on the work of the project, the conference closed with a discussion on the relationship between EU transport regulation and the Rail Protocol.

Papers from the 5th Annual Conference are available here.  Further information about the Cape Town Convention Academic Project is available here.