For information only - not an official document
UNIS/L/254
18 October 2017
VIENNA, 18 October (UN Information Service) - The United Nations Convention in Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration ("The Mauritius Convention on Transparency") will enter into force today, 18 October 2017. The Convention has to date been ratified by Canada, Mauritius and Switzerland. None of the ratifying States made reservations and, as a result, the Transparency Rules are now part of the investor-State dispute settlement regime created by investment treaties concluded by those three States. Consequently, the Transparency Rules will apply to investor-State disputes arising under investment treaties concluded by those States before April 2014 in accordance with the conditions set forth in the Transparency Convention and the relevant investment treaties.
The Mauritius Convention on Transparency aims to provide States and regional economic integration organizations with an efficient mechanism that extends the scope of the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based investor-State Arbitration ("Rules on Transparency") to investment treaties concluded before the Rules entered into force on 1 April 2014. The Rules on Transparency provide procedural rules that ensure transparency and public accessibility to treaty-based investor-State arbitration, the proceedings of which have traditionally been conducted behind closed doors. Together with the Rules on Transparency, the Mauritius Convention on Transparency takes into account both the public interest in such arbitrations and disputing parties' interest in achieving a fair and efficient resolution of their disputes. It is expected that the Convention will significantly contribute to enhancing transparency in investor-State dispute resolutions.
The Convention has been signed by Australia, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Netherlands, Sweden, Syria, United Kingdom and the United States.
For up-to-date information about the parties and signatories to the Convention, please see the UNCITRAL website.
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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:
Jenny
Clift
Principal Legal Officer
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: jenny.clift[at]uncitral.org
