Sixth Committee (Legal) — 72nd session
Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fiftieth session (Agenda item 79)
- Authority: resolution 71/135
Documentation
- A/72/17 — Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fiftieth session
Summary of work
Background (source: A/72/100)
The General Assembly established the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) at its twenty-first session, in 1966, to promote the progressive harmonization and unification of the law of international trade, and requested the Commission to submit an annual report to the Assembly (resolution 2205 (XXI)). The Commission began its work in 1968. It originally consisted of 29 Member States representing the various geographic regions and the principal legal systems of the world. At its twenty-eighth and fifty-seventh sessions, respectively, the General Assembly increased the membership of the Commission from 29 to 36 States (resolution 3108 (XXVIII)) and from 36 to 60 States (resolution 57/20).
For the current composition of the Commission, see decisions 64/405, 67/406 and 70/405.
At its seventy-first session, the General Assembly endorsed the efforts and initiatives of the Commission, as the core legal body within the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. It commended the Commission for the finalization and adoption of the Model Law on Secured Transactions, the 2016 Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings and the Technical Notes on Online Dispute Resolution. It requested the Secretary-General to continue to operate, through the secretariat of the Commission, the repository of published information under the Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration, in accordance with article 8 of the Rules, as a pilot project until the end of 2017, to be funded entirely by voluntary contributions. The Assembly took note with interest of the decisions taken by the Commission with regard to its future work and the progress made by the Commission in its work in several areas (resolution 71/135).
At the same session, the General Assembly recommended that all States give favourable consideration to the Model Law when revising or adopting legislation relevant to secured transactions (resolution 71/136); the use of the 2016 Notes, including by parties to arbitration, arbitral tribunals and arbitral institutions, as well as for academic and training purposes with respect to international commercial dispute settlement (resolution 71/137); and that all States and other stakeholders use the Technical Notes in designing and implementing online dispute resolution systems for cross-border commercial transactions (resolution 71/138).
Consideration at the seventy-second session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 10th, 17th, and 21st meetings, on 9, 20 and 25 October 2017 (A/C.6/72/SR.10, 17 and 21). For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its forty-ninth session (A/72/17).
At the 10th meeting, on 9 October, the Chair of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law at its fiftieth session introduced the report of the Commission on the work of its fiftieth session (A/72/17).
Statements were made by the representatives of El Salvador [in English] (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)), the European Union (also on behalf of its member States) (the candidate countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Albania, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova aligned themselves with the statement), Austria, the Philippines, Singapore, Peru, India, Japan, the Russian Federation, El Salvador, Thailand, South Africa, Argentina, Belarus, Italy, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Chile, Indonesia, Bahrain, Honduras, the United States, Israel, Cameroon and Morocco. The observers for the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and of the Permanent Court of Arbitration also made statements.
Delegations expressed support for the work of UNCITRAL and commended it for the progress made during its fiftieth session, as well as welcoming the Commission’s fiftieth anniversary. The progress made in the various working groups was noted, and support was generally expressed for their work. In particular, in relation to Working Group II (dispute settlement), while some delegations reiterated their support for a convention for the enforcement of international commercial settlement agreements resulting from conciliation, currently under development, other delegations underlined the importance of giving priority to the development of model laws in this area. In relation to Working Group IV (electronic commerce), delegations generally expressed their support for the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records adopted at this session. The view was also expressed that the digital divide across regions of the world may impair the development of legal advancements in this field without further investment.
In relation to the future programme of work, delegations generally noted the initiative by the Commission to entrust Working Group III with a broad mandate to work on the possible reform of investor-State dispute settlement. While some delegations expressed full support for the initiative, other delegations underlined the importance of maintaining a cautious approach, which would bear in mind the unique aspects of investment relations, the regional differences in this regard, and the flexibility needed by States in establishing trade and investment relations. In this regard, the view was expressed that a multilateral, consensus-based and transparent approach was essential to such reform initiative. Delegations underlined the importance of the steps identified for such Working Group, which would: first, identify and consider concerns regarding investor-State dispute settlement; second, consider whether reform was desirable in the light of any identified concerns; and, third, if it were to conclude that reform was desirable, develop relevant solutions to be recommended to the Commission with a view to allowing each State the choice of whether and to what extent it wished to adopt the relevant solution(s).
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 17th meeting, on 20 October 2017, the representative of Austria, on behalf of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America, subsequently joined by the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and the Republic of Moldova, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fiftieth session” (A/C.6/72/L.10).
At the 21st meeting, on 25 October 2017, Armenia, Belarus, Ireland, Kiribati, Latvia, and Poland joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/72/L.10 without a vote.
Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, take note with interest of the decisions taken by the Commission as regards its future work and the progress made by the Commission in its work in several areas. In particular, the General Assembly would commend the Commission for the finalization and adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records and of the Guide to Enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Secured Transactions.
At the 17th meeting, on 20 October, the representative of Austria, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law” (A/C.6/72/L.11).
At its 21st meeting, on 25 October, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/72/L.11 without a vote.
Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, recommend that all States give favourable consideration to the Model Law when revising or adopting legislation relevant to electronic commerce and invite States that have used the Model Law to advise the Commission accordingly.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-third session (2018).
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