Sixth Committee (Legal) — 78th session

Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fifty-sixth session (Agenda item 77)

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Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/78/100)

At its twenty-first session, the General Assembly established the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) 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, fifty-seventh and seventy-sixth sessions, respectively, the Assembly increased the membership of the Commission from 29 to 36 States (resolution 3108 (XXVIII)), from 36 to 60 States (resolution 57/20) and from 60 to 70 States (resolution 76/109). For the current composition of the Commission, see decision 76/416.

The Assembly had on its agenda the item entitled “Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law” annually from the twenty-third to the forty-first sessions and has had the item entitled “Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its … session” annually since its forty-second session (resolutions 2421 (XXIII), 2502 (XXIV), 2635 (XXV), 2766 (XXVI), 2928 (XXVII), 3104 (XXVIII), 3108 (XXVIII), 3316 (XXIX), 3494 (XXX), 31/98 to 31/100, 32/145, 33/92, 33/93, 34/142, 34/143, 35/51, 35/52, 36/32, 37/106, 37/107, 38/134, 38/135, 39/82, 40/71, 40/72, 41/77, 42/152, 42/153, 43/165 (United Nations Convention on International Bills of Exchange and International Promissory Notes), 43/166, 44/33, 45/42, 46/56 A and B, 47/34, 48/32 to 48/34, 49/54, 49/55, 50/47, 50/48 (United Nations Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit), 51/161, 51/162 (Model Law on Electronic Commerce adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law), 52/157, 52/158 (Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law), 53/103, 54/103, 55/151, 56/79, 56/80, 56/81 (United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade), 57/17, 57/18 (Model Law on International Commercial Conciliation of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law), 57/19, 57/20, 58/75, 58/76, 59/39, 59/40, 60/20, 60/21 (United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts), 61/32, 61/33, 62/64, 62/65, 63/120, 63/121, 63/122 (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea), 64/111, 64/112, 65/21 to 65/24, 66/94 to 66/96, 67/89, 67/90, 68/106 to 68/109, 69/115, 69/116 (United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration), 70/115, 71/135 to 71/138, 72/113, 72/114, 73/197 to 73/200, 74/182 to 74/184, 75/133, 76/107 to 76/109, 76/229 and 77/99 to 77/101).

At its seventy-seventh session, the Assembly allocated the item to the Sixth Committee, where statements in the debate were made by the Chair of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and by 35 delegations (see A/C.6/77/SR.15–17). The Assembly noted with interest the progress made by the Commission in its work in several areas and took note with interest of the decisions taken by the Commission on its future work (resolution 77/99).

Consideration at the seventy-eighth session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at13th, 14th and 37th meetings, on 16 October and on 17 November 2023. The views of the representatives who spoke during the Committee’s consideration of the item are reflected in the relevant summary records (See A/C.6/78/SR.13, 14 and 37).

The Chair of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law at its fifty-sixth session introduced the report of the Commission (A/78/17).

Statements were made by the representatives of the European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Monaco aligned themselves with the statement)), Iceland (on behalf of the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), the United States of America, Austria, Belarus, Chile, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Philippines, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Egypt, Singapore, Mexico, China, South Africa, Viet Nam, Cuba, El Salvador, Thailand, Italy, India, Uganda, Kuwait, France, the Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Japan, Malaysia, Canada [in English], Morocco, Pakistan and the Russian Federation.

Delegations generally expressed support for the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and commended it for the progress made at its fifty-sixth section. The importance of the Commission’s role in the harmonization and progressive development of international trade law was emphasized and the relevance of its work to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals was highlighted. In particular, the finalization and adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Provisions on Mediation for International Investment Disputes and Guidelines on Mediation for International Investment Disputes, Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Dispute Resolution and Code of Conduct for Judges in International Investment Dispute Resolution with respective commentary and Guide on Access to Credit for Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises was welcomed.

In relation to future work, delegations highlighted their interest in various aspects of the work of the working groups. Concerning Working Group I, a number of delegations expressed interest in the work on the draft UNIDROIT Model Law on Warehouse Receipts. Regarding Working Group II, the importance of addressing ethical standards of adjudicators as well as the issue of third-party funding was highlighted. Concerning Working Group III, a number of delegations highlighted the importance of completing the draft provisions on an advisory centre on international investment law and making progress on structural reforms regarding investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms. Regarding Working Group IV, several delegations expressed appreciation for UNCITRAL’s work in relation to the digital economy. With respect to Working Group V, a number of delegations expressed appreciation for progress in the work on civil asset tracing and interest in future work on applicable law in insolvency proceedings. Regarding Working Group VI, the inclusion of a new topic on negotiable multimodal transport documents was welcomed. Additionally, several delegations emphasized the importance of UNCITRAL’s work on a detailed study on the aspects of international trade law related to voluntary carbon credits and emphasized the importance of continuing to study areas in which international trade law can effectively support the achievement of climate action goals set by the international community, the scope and value of legal harmonization in those areas and the need for international guidance for legislators, policymakers, courts and dispute resolution bodies.

Finally, the importance of capacity building programmes and broad participation of all countries was emphasized. Several delegations expressed appreciation for the contributions made to the UNCITRAL Trust Fund to facilitate the participation of developing countries in the Commission’s work. A number of delegations emphasized the importance of the equitable geographical distribution of members.

Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings

Video   13th meeting (16 October 2023, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary

Video   14th meeting (16 October 2023, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary

Video   37th meeting (17 November 2023, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 37th meeting, on 17 November, the representative of Austria, also on behalf of Albania, Argentina, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda and Ukraine, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fifty-sixth session” (A/C.6/78/L.7) and announced that Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Serbia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Zambia had joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.

At the same meeting, the representative of Singapore, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Model Provisions on Mediation for International Investment Disputes and Guidelines on Mediation for International Investment Disputes of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law” (A/C.6/78/L.8).

At the same meeting, the representative of Austria, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Dispute Resolution and Code of Conduct for Judges in International Investment Dispute Resolution with respective commentary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law” (A/C.6/78/L.9).

At the same meeting, the representative of El Salvador, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced [in English]  a draft resolution entitled “Guide on Access to Credit for Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law” (A/C.6/78/L.10).

At the same meeting, the Committee adopted the four draft resolutions (A/C.6/78/L.7, A/C.6/78/L.8, A/C.6/78/L.9 and A/C.6/78/L.10) without a vote.

Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.7, the General Assembly would, inter alia, commend the Commission for the completion and adoption of several legislative texts and take note with interest of the progress made by the Commission in its work in several areas and of the decisions taken by the Commission as regards its future work, including the decision of the Commission to task one of its working groups with the development of a model law on warehouse receipts.

Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.8, the Assembly would express its appreciation for the adoption of the Model Provisions on Mediation for International Investment Disputes and on the Guidelines on Mediation for International Investment Disputes and recommend the use of the Model Provisions and the Guidelines by States and other relevant stakeholders.

Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.9, the Assembly would express its appreciation for the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Dispute Resolution and recommend the use of the Code by arbitrators, former arbitrators, candidates and disputing parties, as well as administering institutions, with regard to international investment disputes.

Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/78/L.10, the Assembly would express its appreciation for the adoption of the Guide on Access to Credit for Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and recommend States give due consideration to the Guide when adopting or revising legislation relevant to access to credit by micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, and encourage States to ensure that all such enterprises have equal access to credit.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will thus be considered at the seventy-ninth session (2024).

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