UNCITRAL

UNCITRAL

Description

On 17 December 1966, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, UNCITRAL, was set up at Hungary's request by the United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966. Originally headquartered in New York and relocated to Vienna in I 979, UNCITRAL consists of a limited, but steadily increasing number of member states of the United Nations. When it was created, UNCITRAL was composed of 29 Member States of the United Nations; subsequently, membership was expanded to 36 (1973) and thereafter to 60 (2002) states. The increase in the number of Member States (elected for terms of six years) makes it easier to guarantee that the various geographic regions and the principal economic and legal systems of the world are represented. This becomes apparent if one considers that the 60 states include 14 African states, 14 Asian states, 8 Eastern European states, 10 Latin American states and Caribbean states and 14 Western European and other states. UNCITRAL's secretariat is provided by the International Trade Law Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), whose director also serves as the Secretary to UNCITRAL. The secretariat has different tasks, including the preparation of studies, reports and draft texts on issues that are being considered for potential inclusion in UNCITRAL's work programme. It is also responsible for elaborating and revising working papers and legislative texts on issues already included in the work programme. The secretariat is also tasked with reporting on the annual meetings of UNCITRAL (the venues of which alternate between Vienna and New York) as well as on the meetings of the various Working Groups which carry out the substantive preparatory work on the issues included in UNCITRAL's work programme.

Source Publication

Encyclopedia of Private International Law

Source Editors/Authors

Jürgen Basedow, Giesela Rühl, Franco Ferrari, Pedro de Miguel Asensio

Publication Date

2017

Volume Number

2

UNCITRAL

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