United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was created by the UN General Assembly in 1966 with the mandate of reducing obstacles to international trade. The General Assembly understood that existing national trade laws were disparate and recognized that there needed to be an international commission whose purpose is to work toward a more unified concept of international trade law. One of UNCITRAL's missions is the creation of model laws in areas of international trade, as a means of fostering uniformity in trade laws, with the intent that the participating nations will adopt the laws. The Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration is one example of the work of UNCITRAL.
UNCITRAL is composed of representatives from the sixty member states. Previously, the membership was twenty-five nations, but as June 14, 2004, it increased to the current sixty. Each member is elected by the General Assembly for a six-year term. Membership of UNCITRAL is structured to be representative of geographic regions, economic systems and legal systems.
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- Title: united nations commission on international trade law
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You can find a selected list of publications below.
Introductory Resources
- UNCITRAL HomepageThis is the official United Nations' webpage for UNCITRAL. It is accessible in the six official languages of the U.N. Information is available relating to the general mission of UNCITRAL, its working groups and areas of interest and current projects.. The full texts of the model rules created by the Commission are available, as are legal guides on related subjects. The website is easy to navigate and search and UNCITRAL has prepared a Research Guide to assist users in finding documents (this is located on the left menu on the main page).
UNCITRAL - The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (e-book) by Publication Date: 2017This book serves as an introduction to UNCITRAL. Its purpose is to provide an overview to UNCITRAL for anyone with an interest in international trade. Written in clear language, it covers the background, organization and functioning of the commission. There are sections describing the formation of UNCITRAL and its general procedures for conducting business. Other chapters focus on the different areas of interest for the commission, such as international sale of goods and transport of goods, and describe the works of the commission in these areas. Included in the volume is the text of the General Assembly Resolution establishing UNCITRAL, as well as the full text of the agreements and other materials that have resulted from the work of the commission.- Uniform Commercial Law in the 21st Century (e-book) by Publication Date: 1992The volume is a collection of speeches during the Congress of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law which took place in May 1992. The Congress was intended as a session whereby participants could considered and review the progress made in the unification of international trade law since the inception of UNCITRAL. It was also meant to be a stage for consideration of future projects for UNCITRAL to further its mission. The book provides a historical look at the origins of UNCITRAL and a clear review of its main projects in areas such as sales of goods, commercial arbitration and dispute settlement. In considering the future, ideas were presented about how UNCITRAL should operate in a changing world and how to gain wider acceptance of the model laws.
Also available in print, Call Number JX1976.A49 V Un32 1992 - UNCITRAL legal guide on international countertrade transactions (e-book) by Publication Date: 1992This guide was written to provide a framework for international countertrade transactions. Since one of UNCITRAL's objectives was to develop more uniformity in international trade laws, creating a legal guide with recommendations, suggestions and advice about how countertrade transactions should operate in the international arena fall within its area of interest. The volume sets out definitions of key terms, describes approaches to structuring the transactions and provides lists of suggested contract clauses. There are recommendations regarding drafting of the contracts and chapters focus on specific aspects of the process, such as pricing and payment, failure to complete the transaction and dispute settlement. While this book applies to a specific area of international law, it is a good example to show how UNCITRAL operates. It also provides an overview for researchers looking for information on international countertrade transactions.
- United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Yearbook 2009 (e-book) by Publication Date: 2013The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. It specializes in the modernization and harmonization of rules on international business. The Commission is composed of sixty Member States elected by the General Assembly. This Yearbook reproduces the substantive documents prepared each year for the Commission and its working groups. It also includes the annual Report of the Commission, meeting records, General Assembly resolutions and Sixth Committee reports related to UNCITRAL's work, as well as a bibliography of recent scholarly writings examining the legal texts prepared by UNCITRAL.
UNCITRAL Model Rules
UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (e-book) by Publication Date: 2008Recognizing the value of arbitration as a method of settling disputes arising in international commercial relations and to make all efforts to ensure that the revised articles of the Model Law and the recommendations become widely known and available, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has produced this publication to include the full text of the Model Law with amendments as adopted in 2006.- UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules (e-book)Publication Date: 1980This volume sets out the conciliation rules developed by UNCITRAL. Adopted by the United Nations in General Assembly Resolution 35/52 in 1980, this set of rules would bind parties who have consented to the rules and who seek to settle their disputes through conciliation. The rules set out the process for dispute settlement, including appointment of conciliator, submission of statements and acceptance of settlement agreement.
Case Law Resources
- Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT)Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT) is a full text database of cases relating to the texts of the Model Rules developed by UNCITRAL. It is accessed through the left side menu on the main UNCITRAL page. The intent of presenting the decisions was to foster a greater understanding of the rules and facilitate a more uniform interpretation and application of them. A list of case abstracts is available for researchers who already have the U.N. document case citation. There is a User's Guide linked to the CLOUT mainpage which explains the organization and search capacity of the site, which is an excellent place to begin the research process on CLOUT.
- UNCITRAL DigestFollowing the creation of the Model Law, many countries proceeded to adopt its provisions into their national laws. The Digests were designed to present selected information on its interpretation, and to support the goal of uniform interpretation.