UNCITRAL adopts Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: (A brief account of the final text)

Abstract

THE important project described in the first article of this journal1 has recently been successfully completed: The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law adopted on 21 June 1985 the ‘UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration’.2 Representatives and observers of 61 States and 18 international organisations participated in the extensive deliberations on the draft text which the Working Group on International Contract Practices had prepared during five sessions. This draft text proved to be not only a good basis for the Commission's deliberations but also, by and large, an acceptable model set of provisions for improving and harmonising national laws in respect of the specific field of international commercial arbitration. Of course, on a number of important issues, which had been controversial in the Working Group, it was difficult to reach consensus in the Commission. However, in most of these issues the Commission came to the same conclusion as the Working Group, often accompanied by a clarification which should alleviate certain concerns or by a common understanding which should prove useful in the interpretation and application of the Law. It is beyond the scope of this short account to reflect fully the discussions and decisions on all the provisions; for. this, the reader is referred to the proceedings of the session3 and to the final text itself. What will be given here is a brief update of the earlier ‘basic article’ by reporting new decisions and substantive modifications. For ease of reference – fortunately facilitated by the survival of the old article numbers (except articles 3,17 and 18) – the changes in the final text will be reported here under the sub-headings used in the basic article under the heading ‘III. Subject areas and main provisions of the Model Law’ (to no one's surprise, nothing needs …