For information only - not an official document
UNIS/L/202
10 July 2014
NEW YORK/VIENNA, 9 July (UN Information Service) - The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) has approved the draft convention on transparency in treaty-based investor-State arbitration (the "convention on transparency") at its 47th session in New York.
The UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration adopted by the Commission in 2013 provide a procedural framework for making information available to the public on investment arbitration cases arising under relevant investment treaties concluded after 1 April 2014. Application of the Rules on Transparency to arbitration cases arising under treaties concluded before that date is currently subject to consent by disputing parties or treaty parties on a case by case basis. The purpose of the convention on transparency is to provide a mechanism for the application of the Rules on Transparency to arbitration cases arising under the almost 3,000 investment treaties concluded before 1 April 2014. With UNCITRAL's approval, the convention on transparency will now be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for final consideration and adoption at its 69th session this Fall.
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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, international payments, 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
