SUMMARY OF THE U.A.E. ANNUAL CONGRESS IN NAPLES – JUNE 2019

Dear colleagues,
Dear friends,

In this early autumn which features many interesting academic events, and while awaiting our General Assembly on 22-23 November, the Bureau of U.A.E. would like to summarise the XXXIII Annual Congress held in the magical city of Naples, Italy, on 28-29 June 2019.

The Annual Congress is the main event of the Association of each year, usually hosting a prestigious faculty of practitioners, academics and researchers, representatives of the E.U. and national institutions and members of the business community, around a theme of topical interest.

The 2019 event was organized by the “Naples and Campania Delegation”, headed by Gian Michele Roberti (President) and Francesco Avolio (Vice-President) and with the valuable support of Mariella Fiorentino, under the patronage (inter alia) of the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, and the Bar Associations of “Naples” and “Naples Nord” (see event).

On 27 June, the academic talks were preceded by welcome drinks on the pleasant terrace of the “Grand Hotel Oriente”.

On 28 June, the Congress took place at the prestigious ‘’Sala Rari’’ (rare books room) of the National Library “Vittorio Emanuele III”, hosted in the beautiful Royal Palace.

The President of U.A.E., Gabriele Donà, opened the Congress and welcome speeches were addressed by Giuseppe Tesauro (Honorary Member of U.A.E. and former President of the Italian Constitutional Court), Antonio Tafuri (President of the Bar Association of “Naples”), and Gianfranco Mallardo (President of the Bar Association of “Naples Nord”).

Mr Tafuri and Mr Mallardo were then bestowed the U.A.E. commemorative medal by President Donà.

The topic of the day was “Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the European legal context: evolving legal tools and sector specific implementation”.

The morning session, chaired by Gian Michele Roberti, was entitled “Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for “C2B” Disputes: the EU framework and Sector-Specific Implementation”.

The theme was debated by Ezio Perillo (Judge of the General Court of the European Union), Josef Azizi (Honorary Professor at the Vienna University Law Faculty; formerly Coordinator for the adaptation of the Austrian federal law to the law of the European Union; former Judge of the General Court of the European Union), Nicola Rocco di Torrepadula (former Member of the Coordination Panel of the Italian Banking and Financial Ombudsman; Full Professor of Commercial Law, University of Salerno), Giuseppe Tiracorrendo (General Secretary of the Italian Banking and Financial Ombudsman), Paolo Del Vecchio (Director of the Legal Service of the Italian Communication Authority), Axel Desmedt (Member of the Council of the Belgian Posts and Telecommunications Authority).

After the lunch break, Alice Canet (Strasbourg Bar) presented her winning Essay of the 2019 U.A.E. Young Lawyer Scholarship.

The afternoon session, chaired by Gabriele Donà, was entitled “Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and further Sector-Specific or National Implementation – Arbitration”.

The theme was debated by James Barnard (Barrister in London), Angela Albert (Mediator; President of the Association of European Mediators, Mediation Centre of the Paris Bar), Roberto Iodice (Mediator at the Mediation Centre of the Naples Bar), Grégory Thuan dit Dieudonné (former Legal Secretary at the European Court of Human Rights; President of the “Human Rights” Commission of U.A.E.), Fabio Ferraro (Full Professor of European Union Law, “Federico II” University of Naples).

Later on Friday, the Gala Dinner was held on the beautiful terrace of the “Hotel Excelsior”, where guests enjoyed an incredible panoramic view of the Vesuvius, the Gulf of Naples and the idyllic islands of Ischia and Capri, and shared great moments of conviviality.

The evening was also brightened by the bestowing, by the President Gabriele Donà, on Josef Azizi and Ezio Perillo of the title of Honorary Member of U.A.E.

On Saturday morning, 29 June, a special academic session took place at the Historical Library “Alfredo de Marsico” of Castel Capuano, on the “CREA project – Conflict Resolution with Equitative Algorithms”.

During the welcome address, Gabriele Donà bestowed the U.A.E. commemorative medal on Roberto Fiore (President of the Historical Library “Alfredo De Marsico”) and Antonio Buonajuto (President of “Fondazione Castel Capuano”).

The “CREA project” was introduced by Francesco Avolio and debated by Adriano Maffeo (“Federico II” University of Naples), Flavia Rolando (“Federico II” University of Naples), Marco Giacalone (Vrije Universiteit VUB of Brussels), Marco Dall’Aglio (Luiss University of Rome).

Finally, the Executive Committee of U.A.E. held its meeting in the room of “Fondazione Castel Capuano”.

In the afternoon, participants shared moments of tasteful conviviality at the historical “Pizzeria Trianon” and attended a unique guided tour of the historic centre of Naples.

We hope to see you on 22-23 November in Luxembourg for the forthcoming U.A.E. General Assembly, which will focus on “Acquisition and management of real estate property in Europe”. Further details will follow soon.

The Bureau of U.A.E.