13 November 1981

57th plenary meeting

Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

The General Assembly,

Having considered the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fourteenth session,

Recalling that the object of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law is the promotion of the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law,

Recalling, in this regard, its resolution 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966, by which it established the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and defined the object and terms of reference of the Commission, 3108 (XXVIII) of 12 December 1973, by which it increased the membership of the Commission, 31/99 of 15 December 1976, by which Governments of Member States not members of the Commission were entitled to attend the sessions of the Commission and its Working Groups as observers, and 34/142 of 17 December 1979, by which the co-ordinating function of the Commission in the field of international trade law was emphasized, as well as its previous resolutions concerning the reports of the Commission on the work of its annual sessions,

Recalling also its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974 and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975,

Reaffirming its conviction that the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law, in reducing or removing legal obstacles to the flow of international trade, especially those affecting the developing countries, would significantly contribute to universal economic co-operation among all States on a basis of equality, equity and common interests and to the elimination of discrimination in international trade and, thereby, to the well-being of all peoples,

Having regard for the need to take into account the different social and legal systems in harmonizing the rules of international trade law,

Stressing the usefulness and importance of organizing symposia for promoting better knowledge and understanding of international trade law and, especially, for the training of young lawyers from developing countries in this field,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its fourteenth session;

2. Commends the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law for the progress made in its work and for its efforts to enhance the efficiency of its working methods;

3. Calls upon the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, in particular its Working Group on the New International Economic Order, to continue to take account of the relevant provisions of the resolutions concerning the new international economic order, as adopted by the General Assembly at its sixth and seventh special sessions;

4. Welcomes the decision of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, upon the recommendation of the Working Group on the New International Economic Order, to commence its work in the field of the new international economic order with the drafting of a legal guide identifying the legal issues involved in contracts for the supply and construction of large industrial works and suggesting possible solutions to assist parties, in particular from developing countries, in their negotiations;

5. Reaffirms the mandate of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to co-ordinate legal activities in the field of international trade law in order to avoid duplication of efforts and waste of resources and, in this connexion:

(a) Expresses its appreciation to all bodies within and without the United Nations system that responded to the request from the Commission for information on their current activities relating to international trade law, for the purpose of the preparation of a report which formed the basis for the recommendation of steps to be taken by the Commission to strengthen co-ordination;

(b) Endorses the various methods suggested by the Commission to implement further its co-ordinating role in the field of international trade law;

(c) Recommends that the Commission should maintain close collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Law Commission, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Commission on Transnational Corporations and continue to collaborate with other international organizations active in the field of international trade law;

(d) Calls upon Governments to ensure co-ordination in respect of the work programmes of the various international organizations in which they are represented;

(e) Welcomes the invitation by the Hague Conference on Private International Law to all States to participate in the extraordinary session to be held in 1985 to revise the 1955 Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to International Sales of Goods, and also to States members of the Commission to attend a session to be held in 1982, of the Special Commission, that will consider the preparatory work for the revision;

(f) Welcomes the invitation by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law to States members of the Commission that are not members of the Institute to participate in its Committee of Governmental Experts which considered a draft Uniform Law on Agency of an International Character in the International Sale of Goods at the meeting held from 2 to 13 November 1981;

6. Reaffirms the importance, in particular for the developing countries, of the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law concerned with training and assistance in the field of international trade law and, in this connexion:

(a) Expresses its appreciation to the States which contributed to fellowships for participants from developing countries at the Second Symposium on International Trade Law, held by the Commission from 22 to 26 June 1981, and to the Commission for the success of the Symposium;

(b) Stresses the desirability of the Commission sponsoring symposia and seminars, including those organized on a regional basis, to promote training and assistance in the field of international trade law, and recommends that the Commission should continue to sponsor such symposia and seminars;

(c) Welcomes the initiatives being undertaken to sponsor regional seminars jointly with regional organizations, such as the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee and the Inter-American Juridical Committee;

(d) Invites Governments, relevant United Nations organs, organizations, institutions and individuals to assist the secretariat of the Commission in financing and organizing symposia and seminars;

7. Stresses the importance of bringing into effect the conventions emanating from the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law for the global unification and harmonization of international trade law;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods, adopted in New York on 12 June 1974, and the Protocol amending the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods, adopted at Vienna on 10 April 1980, the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, adopted at Hamburg on 30 March 1978, and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, adopted at Vienna on 10 April 1980, to the notice of all States which have not ratified or acceded to them, and to provide those States with appropriate information as to the mode of their entry into force and the current status of ratifications and accessions, and to draw the attention of those States to the views of the Commission contained in its decision of 22 June 1981, in which the Commission emphasized that an early entry into force and a wide acceptance of the instruments mentioned would be of great value for the unification of int

ernational trade law;

9. Affirms the importance of the participation of observers from

all States and interested international organizations at sessions of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and its Working Groups;

10. Recommends that the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law should continue its work on the topics included in its programme of work;

11. Reaffirms the importance of the programme of work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and of the increased role of the International Trade Law Branch of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat as the substantive secretariat of the Commission;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to forward to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law the records of the discussion at the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly relating to the report of the Commission on the work of its fourteenth session.