The Indian Council of Arbitration

IV. Work carried out by UNCITRAL

The areas in which the Commission has worked or is working and the major results of that work are set forth below:





1. International sale of goods and related transactions
   
   

   • Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods (New York, 1974). This Convention establishes uniform rules governing the period of time within which legal proceedings arising from an international sales contract must be commenced. It has been amended by a protocol adopted in 1980 when the United Nations Sales Convention (see below) as adopted. Both the original Convention and the Convention as amended entered into force on 1 August 1988. There are currently 20 States parties to the Convention, of which 14 are parties to the Convention as amended.

   • United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (Vienna, 1980). This Convention establishes a comprehensive code of legal rules governing the formation of contracts for the international sale of goods, the obligations of the buyer and seller, remedies for breach of contract and other aspects of the contract. The Convention entered into force on 1 January 1988. There are currently 45 States parties to the Convention.

   • UNCITRAL Legal Guide on International Countertrade Transactions. The purpose of the Legal Guide, adopted in 1992, is to assist parties negotiating international countertrade transactions. It identifies legal issues involved in such transactions and discusses possible contractual solutions.

2. International transport of goods
   
   

   • United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (1978) (the “Hamburg Rules”). This Convention establishes a uniform legal regime governing the rights and obligations of shippers, carriers and consignees under a contract of carriage of goods by sea. It was prepared at the request of developing countries and its adoption by States has been endorsed by such intergovernmental organizations as UNCTAD, Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee and the Organization of American States. The twenty ratifications and accessions needed for the Convention to enter into force have been deposited and the Convention entered into force on 1 November 1992 (present status: 25 ratifications and accessions).

   • United Nations Convention on the Liability of Operators of Transport Terminals in International Trade. This Convention sets forth uniform legal rules governing the liability of a terminal operator for loss of and damage to goods involved in international transport while they are in a transport terminal, and for delay by the terminal operator in delivering the goods. The draft Convention was adopted by a diplomatic conference and opened for signature, ratification and accession on 19 April 1991. Up to now the Convention received one accession; to enter into force, five ratifications and accessions are necessary.

3. International commercial arbitration and conciliation
   
   

   • UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Adopted in 1976, the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules provide a comprehensive set of procedural rules upon which parties may agree for the conduct of arbitral proceedings arising out of their commercial relationship. The Rules are widely used in many contexts.

   • Recommendations to assist arbitral tribunals and other interested bodies with regard to arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (1982)

   • UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules (1980). When parties to a commercial dispute wish to settle their disputes amicably through conciliation, they may agree upon this set of procedural rules to govern the conciliation proceedings.

   • UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985). The UNCITRAL Model Law is designed to assist States in reforming and modernizing their laws on arbitral procedure so as to take into account the particular features and needs of international commercial arbitration. It was adopted by UNCITRAL in 1985 and has already been enacted into law by a considerable number of jurisdictions from both developed and developing countries.

   • UNCITRAL Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings (1996). The Notes are designed to assist arbitration practitioners by providing an annotated list of matters on which the arbitral tribunal may wish to formulate decisions during the course of arbitral proceedings. The text, which is in no way binding, may be used whether or not the arbitration is administered by an arbitral institution.

   • Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958). Although the Convention was prepared by the United Nations prior to the existence of UNCITRAL, promotion of the Convention is an integral part of the Commission’s programme of work. As its name indicates, it provides for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards rendered in foreign countries. At present, 109 States are party to it.

4. Public Procurement
   
   

   • UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services (1994). The UNCITRAL Model Law, adopted by the Commission in 1994, is designed to assist States in reforming and modernizing their laws on procurement procedures. The Model Law contains procedures aimed at achieving the objectives of competition, transparency, fairness and objectivity in the procurement process, and thereby increasing economy and efficiency in procurement. In order to assist executive branches of Governments, parliaments and legislatures using the Model Law, the Commission has produced a Guide to Enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services.

   • In 1993, the Commission had adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods and Construction together with an accompanying Guide to Enactment. This Model Law is available for use by States who wish to enact procurement legislation with a scope limited to procurement of goods and construction.

5. Construction Contracts
   
   

   • UNCITRAL Legal Guide on Drawing Up International Contracts for the Construction of Industrial Works. The Legal Guide was published in February 1988 and is available in all six United Nations languages. It discusses the many legal issues that arise in connection with the construction of industrial works, covering the pre-contractual, construction and post-construction phases, and suggests possible ways in which the parties may deal with these issues in their contracts. It was prepared with the special problems of buyers from developing countries in mind.

6. International Payments
   
   

   • United Nations Convention on International Bills of Exchange and International Promissory Notes (New York, 1988). This Convention provides a comprehensive code of legal rules governing new international instruments for optional use by parties to international commercial transactions. It is designed to overcome the major disparities and uncertainties that currently exist in relation to instruments used for international payments. The Convention applies if the parties use a particular form of a negotiable instrument indicating that the instrument is subject to the UNCITRAL Convention. The Convention was adopted and opened for signature by the General Assembly at its 43rd session in December 1988. Ten ratifications or accessions are necessary for the Convention to come into force. The Convention has been acceded to by 2 States to date.

   • UNCITRAL Legal Guide on Electronic Funds Transfers. The Legal Guide, which was published in 1987, identifies the legal issues arising from the transfer of funds by electronic means and discusses possible approaches for dealing with those issues.

   • UNCITRAL Model Law on International Credit Transfers (1992). The Model Law, adopted in 1992, deals with operations beginning with an instruction by an originator to a bank to place at the disposal of a beneficiary a specified amount of money. It covers such matters as the obligations of a sender of the instruction and of a receiving bank, time of payment of a receiving bank and liability of a bank to its sender or to the originator when the transfer is delayed or other error occurs.

   • United Nations Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit (New York, 1995). The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly on 11 December 1995 and is now open for signature and ratification/accession. It is designed to facilitate the use of independent guarantees and stand-by letters of credit, in particular where only one or the other of those instruments may be traditionally in use. The convention also solidifies recognition of common basic principles and characteristics shared by the independent guarantee and the stand-by letter of credit.

7. Electronic commerce
   
   

   • Recommendation on the Legal Value of Computer Records (1985).

   • UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce. The Model Law, adopted in 1996, is intended to facilitate the use of modern means of communications and storage of information, such as electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic mail and telecopy, with or without the use of paper-based concepts such as “writing”, “signature” or “original”. By providing standards by which the legal value of electronic messages can be assessed, the Model Law should play a significant role in enhancing the use of paperless communication. In addition to general norms, the Model Law also contains rules for electronic commerce in specified areas, such as carriage of goods. With a view to assisting executive branches of Governments, legislative bodies and courts in enacting and interpreting the Model Law, the Commission has produced a Guide to Enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
     
     The status of Conventions ratified by various countries referred to above as on 21st June, 1996 is given at Appendix VI.