United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

The School of International Studies has obtained observer status at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for attending the Working Group III on reforming the investor-State dispute settlement mechanism.
UNCITRAL was established in 1966 as a subsidiary body of the General Assembly of the United Nations, with the general mandate to further the progressive harmonization and unification of the law of international trade. 
UNCITRAL has since played a key role in developing a cross-border legal framework for the facilitation of international trade and investment, preparing a wide range of conventions - for example, the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980) -, model laws and other instruments dealing with the substantive law that governs trade transactions or other aspects of business law which have an impact on international trade. 
UNCITRAL has established six working groups to perform the substantive preparatory work on topics within the Commission's programme of work, including: on regulation of micro, small and medium sized enterprises; on investor-state dispute settlement and more broadly dispute settlement; and on electronic commerce.
The topics in the agenda of the Commission are crucial for the future development of international trade, and the School is glad to have the opportunity to participate in discussions at sessions of the Commission and its working group on the reform of investment arbitration, and contribute to the deliberations as an observer.