Uncitral and the Draft Model Law on Legal Aspects of Edi and Related Means of Communication - What Is Uncitral?

Based in Vienna, Austria, UNCITRAL is the primary United Nations organization devoted to international trade issues, with a mission to harmonize and unify the laws of international commerce. UNCITRAL coordinates and encourages cooperation between organizations operating in specific areas of international trade; prepares and encourages recognition of its model laws; and promotes universal interpretations and applications of international standards including its own model laws.

Established by the UN General Assembly in 1966, UNCITRAL's original purpose was to smooth out inconsistencies between national commercial and trade laws to facilitate a more unified global economy as a way for the United Nations to play a more active role in this field. The commission is comprised of 36 member states chosen by the General Assembly for a term of six years to adequately represent all the world's regions and major economic and legal systems. Each of UNITRAL's three working groups performs the bulk of its work at annual sessions in New York and Vienna, where the commission members as well as non-member states and interested international organizations devise a framework for future policies through participatory sessions.