DDRESS OF PAUL VI
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PRIVATE LAW*

Saturday, 26 April 1975

Gentlemen,

We receive you this morning in all simplicity. The International Institute of Private Law, the Managing Committee of which you represent, is preparing its 1976 Congress. We are particularly happy to greet among you, Prof. Matteucci, the new President and to congratulate you, aware as we are of your merits and your competence.

We have already had the opportunity to express our esteem for the work of UNIDROIT, which the Holy See follows with interest. It is a delicate work, for every juridical provision is rooted in a history, bound up with the tradition of a people and the interest of a particular group. Prudence is necessary when reforming institutions; the Church knows this, since it is carrying out similar work in revising her Canon Law. And you must take into account the consent of numerous authorities. However, the renewal and unification of private law must progress. That seems to us indispensable, at a time when cultural and commercial exchanges are multiplying between countries, when closer ties are being knit and a certain interdependence is increasing.

This tells you of our fervent good wishes for the success of your work and its effective implementation. We willingly implore the Lord's Blessings on yourselves, your families and your colleagues.