For information only - not an official document

UNIS/L/158
12 August 2011

American Bar Association Supports UNCITRAL Efforts to Reform Secured Transactions Law

VIENNA, 12 August (UN Information Service) - On 9 August 2011, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA), during its annual meeting, adopted a resolution supporting the efforts of the United States Department of State and other national and international bodies, including the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), to promote the development and harmonization of international trade and commerce and the establishment of predictable systems of secured lending in developing countries through the reform of commercial laws, including secured transactions law.

In that resolution, the ABA also supported the efforts of international and multinational bodies, including UNCITRAL, development banks, and multilateral and bilateral aid agencies in their efforts to encourage developing countries to adopt legislation that facilitates secured lending and to provide them with technical assistance.

The resolution was proposed by the ABA's Business Law Section with the support of the ABA's International Section, the ABA's Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, and the New York State Bar Association. The report supporting the resolution prominently mentioned the United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade (2001) and the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions (2007) , including the Supplement on Security Rights in Intellectual Property (2010), as texts to be considered when adopting or revising legislation relevant to secured transactions. Further information about UNCITRAL texts on security interests is available at http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/security.html.

To complement its previous work on secured transactions and provide urgently needed guidance to States with respect to the establishment and operation of an efficient publicly accessible security rights registry, UNCITRAL (Working Group VI) is currently preparing a text on the registration of security rights in movable assets. Information about Working Group VI is available at http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/commission/working_groups/6Security_Interests.html.

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The 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. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, security interests, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria, and maintains a website at www.uncitral.org.

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For information contact:

Timothy Lemay
Principal Legal Officer
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: timothy.lemay[at]uncitral.org