Sixth Committee (Legal) — 79th session
Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fifty-seventh session (Agenda item 77)
- Authority: resolution 78/103
- List of speakers
Documentation
- A/79/17 — Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fifty-seventh session
- A/C.6/79/L.12 — Draft resolution "Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fifty-seventh session"
- A/C.6/79/L.13 — Draft resolution "Model Law on Warehouse Receipts"
- A/C.6/79/L.14 — Draft resolution "Model Law on Automated Contracting"
Summary of work
Background (source: A/79/100)
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, 77/99 to 77/101 and 78/103 to 78/106).
At its seventy-eighth 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 31 delegations (see A/C.6/78/SR.13 and 14). 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 78/103).
Consideration at the seventy-ninth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 11th, 12th and 38th meetings, on 14 October and on 22 November 2024. 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.6/79/SR.11, 12 and 38).
The Chair of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law at its fifty-seventh session introduced the report of the Commission (A/79/17).
Statements were made by the representatives of European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina aligned themselves with the statement)), Finland (on behalf of Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden)), Canada [in English], Belarus, Austria, Cuba, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Israel, Japan, Sierra Leone, the United States of America, Viet Nam, France, Peru, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Mexico, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, China, Malaysia, India, Zambia, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea, Chile, Uganda, Paraguay, Côte d'Ivoire, Panama, Argentina, Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, El Salvador and Armenia.
Delegations generally expressed support for the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and emphasized the Commission’s role in the harmonization and progressive development of international trade law. Delegations commended the Commission for the progress made at its fifty-seventh session, including the adoption of the Model Law on Warehouse Receipts, the Model Clauses on Specialised Express Dispute Resolution, and the Model Law on Automated Contracting. A number of delegations welcomed the adoption in principle of the Statute of the Advisory Centre on International Investment Dispute Resolution and commended its significant role in providing technical assistance and promoting capacity building for least-developed countries and developing countries. Many delegations expressed their interest in hosting the Headquarters of the Advisory Centre.
In relation to future work, delegations expressed their interest in various aspects of the work of the working groups. Regarding Working Group II, several delegations highlighted the importance of advancing the work of dispute resolution in digital economy, especially the recognition of electronic awards and delivery of electronic notices of arbitration. Concerning Working Group III, a number of delegations highlighted the importance of making further progress on further structural reforms regarding investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms. Regarding Working Group IV, some delegations welcomed continued consideration on the use of artificial intelligence and automation in contracting. 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, some delegations expected further progress on the work of negotiable multimodal transport documents. Additionally, several delegations 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. Some delegations welcomed the colloquium requested by the Commission to address the development regarding secured transactions and new types of assets.
Finally, many delegations emphasized the importance of capacity building programmes and broad participation of all countries . Several delegations emphasized the important role of the UNCITRAL Trust Fund to facilitate the participation of developing countries in the Commission’s work. Several delegations supported the work of streamlining the text of future UNCITRAL omnibus resolutions.
Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings
11th meeting (14 October 2024, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary
12th meeting (14 October 2024, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary
38th meeting (22 November 2024, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 38th meeting, on 22 November, the representative of Austria, on behalf of Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, North Macedonia, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Zambia, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fifty-seventh session” (A/C.6/79/L.12) and announced that Albania, Chile, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Italy, Peru, Serbia, Suriname, Thailand, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam had joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
At the same meeting, the representative of Austria, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Model Law on Warehouse Receipts” (A/C.6/79/L.13).
At the same meeting, the representative of Viet Nam, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Model Law on Automated Contracting” (A/C.6/79/L.14) .
At the same meeting, the Committee adopted the three draft resolutions (A/C.6/79/L.12, A/C.6/79/L.13 and A/C.6/79/L.14) without a vote.
Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/79/L.12, the General Assembly would, inter alia, commend the Commission on the finalization of a number of its products and note with interest the decisions taken by the Commission as regards its future work and the progress made by the Commission in its work in several areas.
Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/79/L.13, the Assembly would recommend that all States give favourable consideration to the Model Law when revising or adopting legislation relevant to warehouse receipts .
Under the terms of draft resolution A/C.6/79/L.14, the Assembly would recommend that all States give favourable consideration to the Model Law when revising or adopting legislation on electronic commerce .
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
This agenda item will thus be considered at the eightieth session (2025).
Related links
