For information only - not an official document
UNIS/L/286
24 October 2019
VIENNA, 24 October (UN Information Service) - The United States of America becomes the second State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade. The instrument of ratification was deposited at UN Headquarters in New York on 15 October 2019. The Convention will enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of six months after the deposit of the fifth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
The Convention, adopted by the General Assembly in 2001, establishes principles and rules relating to the use of receivables (rights to payment of money) in the cross-border context for financing purposes. By providing certainty to such transactions and protecting the interest of all parties involved, the Convention aims to promote the availability of capital and credit on the basis of receivables at more affordable rates, which would be particularly helpful for small and medium-sized enterprises. Entry into force of the Convention would facilitate the development of trade finance as well as international trade, thereby promoting more prosperous, stable and sustainable international trade relationships among States and regions and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Convention is one of the first texts that UNCITRAL has prepared in the area of secured transactions. The UNCITRAL Model Law on Secured Transactions, adopted in 2016 and the Practice Guide to the Model Law, adopted in 2019, both address security interests in all types of movable assets, including receivables. Additional information about the work of UNCITRAL on the law of secured transactions can be found here.
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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 https://uncitral.un.org/ .
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For more information please contact:
José Angelo
Estrella Faria
Principal Legal Officer and Head, Legislative Branch
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: joseangelo.estrella-faria[at]un.org
