UNIS/L/362
15 July 2024
VIENNA, 15 July (UN Information Service) – The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Automated Contracting (the “Model Law”) at its 57th session in New York.
The Model Law provides a legal framework to enable the use of automation in international contracts, including through the deployment of artificial intelligence techniques and “smart contracts”, as well as in machine-to-machine transactions. It is intended to complement and supplement existing laws on electronic transactions, in particular those based on other UNCITRAL electronic commerce texts, which have been enacted in over one hundred jurisdictions worldwide. The Model Law is the first legislative text to result from exploratory work conducted by UNCITRAL on legal issues related to the digital economy and digital trade, with work on data contracts and distributed ledger technology ongoing.
The text of the Model Law and accompanying guide to enactment will be available on the Electronic Commerce page in due course: https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/ecommerce.
Additional information about the work of UNCITRAL can be found on its website: uncitral.un.org.
***
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. For more information, visit: uncitral.un.org
* *** *
For information, please contact:
José Angelo Estrella-Faria
Principal Legal Officer and Head, Legislative Branch
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: joseangelo.estrella-faria@un.org
We must transform how we produce and consume, and how we value nature, says the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "Biodiversity is the bedrock of life and a cornerstone of sustainable development.... Biodiversity loss is a global challenge. No one country, however rich or powerful, can address it alone. Nor can they live without the rich biodiversity that defines our planet."
LGBTIQ+ people around the world face an onslaught of hate speech, attacks, and restrictions on their rights. The power of communities is the theme this year which reminds us that we are strongest together. "LGBTIQ+ people, and those working with them to secure their rights, have proved time and again the value of communities in providing support and driving change," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres
"From the telegraph to radio, from the Internet to Artificial Intelligence, technology has transformed how we live, work, and connect." — António Guterres
Barbados signed and deposited its instrument of ratification for the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (the “Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships”) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 8 May 2025.
