CRCICA was represented by Ms. Rabab Yasseen, Partner, MENTHA AVOCATS, Vice Chair of the CRCICA’s Advisory Committee, as an observer remotely at the 56th session of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), held from 3 to 21 July 2023 and the Colloquium on Climate Change and the Law of International Trade, held on 12 – 13 July 2023.
The 56th session of UNCITRAL’s Commission discussed the following topics:
Investor-State dispute settlement reform: progress report of Working Group III
The Commission took note of the progress being made by Working Group III (WGIII) in the 3rd phase of its mandate, which was to develop concrete reform elements to be recommended to the Commission, with the first set of reform elements submitted to the Commission to be finalized and adopted at the present session.
Taking into account the reports of WGIII on the work of its 43rd, 44th and 45th, the Commission commended the WG for completing its work on the draft codes of conduct for arbitrators and judges in international investment dispute resolution and the respective commentaries, the draft provisions on mediation and the draft guidelines on investment mediation. The Commission also noted that progress was being made with regard to other reform elements, including the establishment of an advisory centre on international investment law, an appellate mechanism, a multilateral instrument on investor-State dispute settlement reform, dispute prevention and mitigation, a number of procedural and cross-cutting issues and the selection and appointment of tribunal members of a standing multilateral mechanism.
The Chair of WGIII also indicated that the WG would aim to submit the draft provisions on an advisory centre on international investment law and a guidance text on means to prevent and mitigate disputes for consideration by the Commission at its next session.