On 1 June 2019, an online consultation on the draft Legal Guide on Agricultural Land Investment Contracts is launched by UNIDROIT. The draft Guide is a consolidated draft – the ALIC Zero Draft – produced by a UNIDROIT working group in collaboration with FAO and IFAD, following the four meetings and promotional events held in 2017 and 2018, and is submitted to broad and extended consultations to raise awareness about the Legal Guide and to seek further input from stakeholders, in order to ensure a high-quality product that responds to actual needs and complies with ascertained best practices.
The online consultation is open until 30 September 2019 at https://www.unidroit.org/work-in-progress/agricultural-land-investment/o...
- SUMMARY OF THE DRAFT GUIDE
The future Legal Guide provides detailed guidance to support the preparation, negotiation and implementation of agricultural land investment contracts that are fully consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security (VGGT), the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Foods Systems (CFS-RAI Principles) and other international instruments. While not endorsing large-scale land acquisitions but acknowledging that land acquisitions continue to occur, the Guide responds to the need for greater and more responsible investment in agriculture, which incorporates necessary safeguards to enhance food security and nutrition and to protect legitimate tenure right holders, human rights, livelihoods and the environment and, in turn, reduces investment risks.
Built upon the success of of the UNIDROIT-FAO-IFAD Legal Guide on Contract Farming and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, the future Legal Guide will address six main aspects: the legal framework; parties, due diligence and formation; obligations and rights of the parties; contractual non-performances and remedies; transfer and return; grievance mechanism and dispute resolution.
- WHO CAN CONTRIBUTE
Anyone who has an interest in the proposed Guide. This includes: public authorities/state counsels, private sector/businesses, civil society organisations, academic institutions, and the public at large.
- HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
Any comments you may have concerning the general approach of the Guide or on specific Chapters, sections or issues would be most welcome, particularly as regards redundant content, insufficient treatment or gaps in the addressed issues (if any).
Please send your comments electronically to alic@unidroit.org – either in the main message or in an attached word document – referring to the specific paragraphs together with the registration form (available here) duly filled in, including your express agreement to the data protection policy.
- ROADMAP
All comments received will be submitted to the Working Group and taken into account, as appropriate, for the final revision of the draft to take place between 1 October and 20 December 2019.
Subject to the final editing process in coordination with FAO and IFAD, the Legal Guide on Agricultural Land Investment Contracts will be adopted by the UNIDROIT Governing Council at its 99th session in May 2020.