On April 1, 1999 our colleague, Lic.jur. Lotte Kunz, unexpectedly passed away at the age of 75. She died of a stroke at her home in Bern, Switzerland.

Librarians meeting other librarians: very boring people talking about extremely boring topics in an outrageously boring manner (and in boring places at boring times). Outsiders may look at us that way (it is hard to overcome a reputation), but, of course, WE know that this is not a true reflection of our professional reality.

It is a great honour once again to welcome the members of the IALL to the UNIDROIT. Perhaps not all of you know that in 1972, in this same month and in this room, the 4th IALL Course was held.

Although the principal manner in which UNIDROIT accomplishes its statutory goal of unifying and harmonising the law consists in legislative drafting, a number of the Institute's other activities, for a long time considered “ancillary” to the unification of law, are increasingly seen as an indispensable complement to the preparation of international instruments. At a very early stage, at a time when information technology as we know it today would have been regarded as belonging to the realm of science fiction, the Institute embarked on a policy designed to disseminate information on the unification process through an editorial venture which has gained in importance over time. I shall here focus on one such “ancillary” activity, relating to UNIDROIT publications.

The UNIDROIT Guide to International Master Franchise Arrangements was published in September 1998. The publication of the Guide represents the completion of the first stage of the work undertaken by UNIDROIT in relation to franchising. The second stage will see the preparation of a model law.

In the past, UNIDROIT'S main efforts in the field of unification consisted in seeking to unify existing rules of domestic law where these rules concerned activities which had a sufficiently transnational dimension to make the absence of international rules a major source of legal uncertainty for commercial parties. This was, for instance, the case with UNIDROIT'S preparation of the two 1964 Conventions on the international sale of goods and its preparation of the 1983 Convention on agency in the international sale of goods.

The UNIDROIT website <www.unidroit.org> may be considered the most authoritative, up to date source of information on the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) and its activities available to the public worldwide via the Internet. It is entirely bilingual in English and French.

The society of the twentieth century has often, and with good reason, been called the “information society.” Information is disseminated in unprecedented quantities and at an unprecedented rate. There is in fact so much information, that it is only with great difficulty that what is sought for is arrived at. Often, it is necessary to wade through a maze of materials, connecting to sites of varying description and content, spending time and money, in what all too often is a fruitless search for materials that should be readily accessible.

The Badia complex stands on the slopes of the Fiesole hills half-way between Florence and Fiesole, bearing the marks of a long religious and civil history. It was in turn a centre of popular worship, a scene of conflict, a goal of ambitions, a quiet refuge for those who looked for monastic calm and study, and an educational institution.

I am very honoured to address such a wide audience as that of the International Association of Law Libraries and to introduce our library to such distinguished colleagues. I have been asked to tell you something about the role of the Library in the Chamber of Deputies. This task requires a very brief presentation of the Parliament.

When one introduces one's own legal system, a useful, indeed the proper, way of proceeding is to attempt to present its main features and characteristics against the background of other legal systems and institutions. The comparison of law therefore occupies a role of central importance in the study of law.

Italy was one of the first countries to adopt a codified system of conflict-of-law rules in 1865, immediately after the foundation of the Italian State. Drafted under the influence of a well-known expert of private international law, Pasquale Stanislao Mancini, who was the Minister of Justice on that time, these rules were part of the general provisions of the first Italian Civil Code.