Frequently Asked Questions - UNCITRAL Texts
What is the difference between a UNCITRAL legislative text and a UNCITRAL non-legislative text?
UNCITRAL legislative texts, such as conventions, model laws, and legislative guides, may be adopted by States through the enactment of domestic legislation. UNCITRAL non-legislative texts, such as the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, can be used by parties to international trade contracts.
Legislative texts include the following:
- United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
- Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods
- UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration
- UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services
- United Nations Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit
- UNCITRAL Model Law on International Credit Transfers
- United Nations Convention on International Bills of Exchange and International Promissory Notes
- United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 1978 (Hamburg)
- United Nations Convention on the Liability of Operators of Transport Terminals in International Trade
- UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
- UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects
- UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
- UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Conciliation
- United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade
- UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law and the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.
Non-legislative texts include the following: UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules; UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules; UNCITRAL Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings; UNCITRAL Legal Guide on Drawing Up International Contracts for the Construction of Industrial Works; and UNCITRAL Legal Guide on International Countertrade Transactions.
What is the difference between a model law and a convention?
A model law is created as a suggested pattern for law-makers in national governments to consider adopting as part of their domestic legislation. A convention is an instrument that is binding under international law on States and other entities with treaty-making capacity that choose to become a party to that instrument. In general, departures from a Convention are only permitted if the Convention permits reservations to be taken to its provisions.
Are there "signatories" to Model Laws?
No. Given that a Model Law is a pattern for a law that is intended to be enacted by governments as domestic legislation, such a law is effectively the same as any other bill passed by the parliament. Consequently, there are no lists of "signatories" such as you would find concerning treaties.
State "***" is listed under the "Status of Conventions and Enactments of UNCITRAL Model Laws" as having signed a particular UNCITRAL Convention. Does that mean that the Convention applies to that State?
No. Under general principles of treaty law, the act of signing a treaty does not automatically make the signatory State a party to that treaty. A further act such as ratification or accession is required for the State to be bound by the treaty at international law, provided the treaty has entered into force. Domestic legislation may also be required for the terms of the treaty to be implemented within the territory of the State.
UNCITRAL treaties are deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs discharges the depositary function on behalf of the Secretary-General. For more information on treaty-related matters, please visit the website of the Treaty Collection.
How do I determine if a State is a party to a Convention? How do I determine if a State has enacted a UNCITRAL Model Law?
UNCITRAL monitors ratifications of Conventions and Enactments of UNCITRAL Model Laws. Information on the status of conventions and model laws is regularly updated on the UNCITRAL website and is made available as detailed tables related to specific texts and as a single table providing an overview of all texts. This list is updated as soon as the Secretariat is informed of changes in status or new enactments. Readers are also advised to consult the United Nations Treaty Collection for authoritative status information.
Copyright policy concerning the reproduction and distribution of UNCITRAL texts
Are UNCITRAL texts copyrighted and do I need permission to reproduce them?
Yes. UNCITRAL texts are copyrighted, and permission is needed to reproduce UNCITRAL texts. To obtain permission to reproduce and distribute UNCITRAL materials, please contact the UNCITRAL secretariat. The UNCITRAL secretariat will generally give permission to external entities (e.g. trade publishers, major international organizations, research institutes with a relevant publishing programme) for the reproduction of UNCITRAL texts in publications so long as (a) the publication is focused on international trade law or a related or relevant field, (b) the source of the texts is duly acknowledged, and (c) a copy of the publication is sent to the UNCITRAL Law Library free of charge at:
UNCITRAL Law Library
Vienna International Centre, Room E-0422
Wagramer Str. 5
P.O.Box 500
A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Permissions are only granted for one edition of a publication at a time.
Neither the UN nor the UNCITRAL logo may be included in the reproduction of UNCITRAL texts.
Joint publication with UNCITRAL
A joint publication with UNCITRAL involves a collaborative effort between UNCITRAL and another entity in the UN system or external entity (e.g. trade publishers, major international organizations, research institutes with a relevant publishing programme). The purpose of such a collaborative effort should be to produce and distribute a publication focused on international trade law in compliance with the mandate of UNCITRAL related to: a) coordination of the work of organizations active in the field of international trade law and support of the cooperation among them; b) promotion of wider participation in existing international conventions and wider acceptance of existing model and uniform laws; c) preparation or promotion of the adoption of new international conventions, model laws and uniform laws and promotion of the codification and wider acceptance of international trade terms, provisions, customs and practices, in collaboration, where appropriate, with the organizations operating in this field; d) promotion of ways and means of ensuring a uniform interpretation and application of international conventions and uniform laws in the field of international trade law; and e) collection and dissemination of information on national legislation and modern legal developments, including case law, in the field of international trade law. (See A/RES/2205, para. 8 (a)-(d). Available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/2205(XXI)).
When UNCITRAL is the lead publisher
In accordance with the United Nations Policy Manual for Publications available at https://iseek.un.org/publications-board, UNCITRAL is considered the lead publisher where UNCITRAL provides most of the content to a joint publication. In such case, the United Nations holds the copyright and handles subsidiary rights with respect to a joint publication unless joint copyright is allowed, which is when co-publishers are UN system entities or when an exception is granted by the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. All the preceding aspects are to be acknowledged in the publication.
The UN logo and name appear on the cover and title page, and the UN editorial style and naming conventions are to be used, in publications where UNCITRAL is the lead publisher.
When UNCITRAL is not the lead publisher
Where UNCITRAL contributes a foreword, an introduction, a book chapter or an article to a publication prepared by an external entity, UNCITRAL will not be considered the lead publisher, and most of the requirements described above will not apply. The source of contributions by UNCITRAL is to be duly acknowledged. Neither the UN nor the UNCITRAL logo and name may appear on the cover and title page of the publication. Instead, the phrase “Prepared in cooperation with the secretariat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law” may be included.
The United Nations retains the copyright on the content contributed to a publication, which cannot be transferred to a publisher. A non-exclusive license for the use of that content can and will generally be granted to the publisher.
Agreement of an external entity to those conditions is to be communicated in each individual case with reference to a specified publication to the UNCITRAL secretariat. The publisher may be requested to provide one copy of the publication free of charge to the UNCITRAL Law Library at:
UNCITRAL Law Library
Vienna International Centre, Room E-0422
Wagramer Str. 5
P.O.Box 500
A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Contributions by external entities to an UNCITRAL publication
A contract is required for a joint publication between UNCITRAL and external entities. The United Nations will hold the copyright in such a publication.
The names and logos of the UN and external entities as the joint publishers may appear on the cover and title page of the joint publication (the logos appear in the lower portion of that page). The logo of the UN should be placed to the left or to the right in the case of right-to-left languages (e.g. Arabic). The order in which the emblems and logos of external entities are listed is to be agreed upon by the parties. If an agreement cannot be reached, an alphabetical order will be adopted based on the language of the publication. No emblem or logo will be more prominent than the others. The name of each partner will be inserted below each emblem or logo.
When an external entity is not a co-publisher of an UNCITRAL publication but contributes to the preparation of a publication as an author, its contribution may be mentioned at the top of the cover and title page or via the following statement on the cover and title page “Prepared in collaboration with [the name of the external entity, foundation, etc.]”. When an external entity contributes to the preparation of a publication as a donor, its contribution is acknowledged on the copyright page, in the foreword or both. The logos of external entities are not displayed alongside the UN logo in such cases.
Joint events
The use of the UNCITRAL logo
In accordance with General Assembly resolution 92(I) of 7 December 1946 and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the use of the UN emblem, name and abbreviation, is reserved for the official purposes of the Organization. The use of the UN name and emblem in any other way is strictly prohibited without the express authorization of the Secretary-General. The UNCITRAL logo includes the United Nations emblem and is thus part of United Nations logos. Therefore, the same requirements apply, and requests to use the UNCITRAL logo (which incorporates the UN emblem) by persons or entities should be referred to the UNCITRAL secretariat.
This requirement applies also when UNCITRAL co-sponsors or co-organizes an event or other activity convened by an external entity. The UNCITRAL logo may be used at the event and on publications and promotional materials, including websites, related to the event only with the prior permission of the UNCITRAL secretariat. The UNCITRAL logo should only be used alongside those of other entities supporting the activity and should not be used to suggest general endorsement of any activities separate from the one being convened. The UNCITRAL logo should not be displayed permanently on the website of an external entity in a manner not related to a conference, meeting or other related event.
If the emblems or logos of other external entities, including specialized entities of the UN system, are displayed, the UNCITRAL logo should be displayed at the top left of the document. Where the language of the event is written from right to left (e.g. Arabic), the UNCITRAL logo should be displayed at the top right of the document.
The logos and names of main organizers may be listed on top followed by a separate line for the logo and name of UNCITRAL. In such case, the following sentence is added “With the official support of UNCITRAL”.
No colours or features of the UNCITRAL logo may be altered, other than the size (however, the original aspect ratio in the UNCITRAL logo must be maintained). Additionally, the size of the UNCITRAL logo may not be smaller than the size of other logos.
Logos of donors, if any, should be smaller than other emblems and logos and should be added in a separate row at the bottom of the material so that it is separate from the UNCITRAL logo.