For information only – not an official document
UNIS/L/314
11 June 2021
VIENNA, 11 June (UN Information Service) – A contribution agreement of EUR 300,000 was signed with the European Union to support the continued operation of the Transparency Registry and to promote the UNCITRAL Transparency Standards for the next three years. The European Union has been a donor to the Transparency Registry since December 2015, when its financial support enabled the establishment of the Registry.
The Transparency Registry was established in accordance with the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (the "Rules") to make information on investor-State arbitrations arising under an investment treaty available to the public. The Transparency Registry provides a consolidated, transparent, and easily accessible global case record database for such arbitrations, which often deal with subjects of public interest.
The Transparency Registry is also a key feature of the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (the "Mauritius Convention") adopted in December 2014, which extends the application of the Rules to investment treaties concluded before 1 April 2014. The Rules, the Mauritius Convention and the Transparency Registry constitute the UNCITRAL standards on transparency, which are the result of a multilateral effort to reform investment arbitration, in particular to enhance awareness of and access to the process of dispute settlement. By making information about investment disputes publicly accessible, the UNCITRAL standards contribute to building confidence in the international investment framework. Furthermore, they constitute an important step in responding to the increasing challenges to the legitimacy of international investment law.
The contribution by the European Union together with contributions by the OPEC Fund for International Development as well as by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will support the UNCITRAL Secretariat in continuing its operation of the Transparency Registry as requested by the UN General Assembly in December 2015 and reiterated in December 2020.
The Transparency Registry can be accessed at http://www.uncitral.org/transparency-registry,
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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
