12 Oct 2009
STATEMENT BY MS DAPHNE HONG, DELEGATE TO THE 64TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 79, ON REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW ON THE WORK OF ITS 42ND SESSION, SIXTH COMMITTEE, 12 OCTOBER 2009
Mr Chairman,
1. Singapore would like to thank the Chairman of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for his Report on the 42nd Session of UNCITRAL. We would also like to congratulate him and the UNCITRAL Secretariat for the successful completion of this Session.
2. Singapore is committed to UNCITRAL's objective of harmonising the legal rules applicable to cross-border commercial transactions. We regard this as a critical factor for the promotion of international trade. Commonality in the legal rules applicable to such transactions reduces uncertainties and thus the transactional costs, and promotes the growth of international trade. Increasing commercial transactions can translate into greater prosperity and well-being for the peoples of the world. More importantly, it promotes greater understanding and inter-dependence among nations. In this way, it is an important contributor to world peace.
3. Singapore has thus participated actively in the work of UNCITRAL. Our participation is guided by the principle that the harmonisation of the different national legal rules that apply to cross-border commercial transactions should result in rules that are effective and rational, as well as easily understood and applied. It should not result in rules that favour any one State or legal system, or indeed specific commercial interests, over others. It is also important that the integrity in the process of harmonising trade laws should be maintained. It should not be allowed to be insidiously compromised in order to advance specific commercial interests. The UNCITRAL Secretariat and the Chairpersons of Commission Sessions and Working Group sessions have important roles to play in this regard.
4. Singapore is therefore extremely pleased to note the efforts that UNCITRAL has undertaken during the past year to clarify and provide guidance to Chairpersons on the conduct of meetings, and also to clarify the roles and responsibilities of member States, non-member States and observers in the work of UNCITRAL. Singapore has noted that in the past, these were subject to different practices applied in different sessions of UNCITRAL and its Working Groups, some of which were inconsistent. It is therefore timely that UNCITRAL has engaged in a process to harmonise its internal workings. Singapore hopes that as the membership of UNCITRAL comprises only States, this process will make it clear that the decisions of UNCITRAL should be the responsibility of States. The decisions should not be determined by observers who were invited to participate in UNCITRAL meetings because of the specific interests that they represent. This is notwithstanding that the observers may advocate very strongly for their respective interests during the deliberations. Singapore notes that notwithstanding the efforts that have been invested in this initiative, the Commission has not been able to arrive at conclusions on this important matter. We hope that this can be finalised soon.
5. This is also true of the work on the revisions to the Model Law on Public Procurement. This work was expected to be completed at the 42nd Session of the Commission this year. An additional session was provided for Working Group I to enable this to be achieved. This session, which was held in February this year, was chaired by Singapore. Regrettably, the deliberations at the session were such that this important work could not be completed. Singapore hopes that this can be completed at the next Session of the Commission in 2010.
6. In the same vein, we note that in the Report of its 42nd Session, the Commission has urged a number of its Working Groups to expedite their work. Singapore would like to join in this exhortation. UNCITRAL is charged with important responsibilities for the international community. Delays in its work will mean that the international community is denied the benefits of its work until such time as the work is complete. Delays are also costly in terms of the resources consumed. This is especially so for small States which have limited resources. We would urge participants in UNCITRAL's deliberations to be sensitive to this concern.
7. Singapore is pleased to note that the work of Working Group III (Transport Law) of UNCITRAL on the "United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea" has been completed with the signing of the "Rotterdam Rules" on 23 September 2009. Singapore had previously expressed our concern at the length of time taken to complete this instrument. This was notwithstanding the fact that the work of the Working Group was based on text on the same subject-matter that had already been finalised by Comite Maritime International. It may be useful to examine the processes involved in the formulation of the Rotterdam Rules to determine how improvements can be made to the processes of UNCITRAL to minimise delays. This may provide useful learning points for future work.
8. Finally, an often understated aspect of UNCITRAL's work is the promotion of the texts that result from its efforts. This includes dispelling misconceptions about what these texts mean and how they are to work in practice. Without efforts being put into this, UNCITRAL's work can often come to nought as officials of states who did not participate in UNCITRAL's deliberations but are responsible for that subject area in their respective jurisdictions may not know or appreciate the solutions provided by these texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat has an active programme of promoting greater knowledge of UNCITRAL's work. More may need to be done.
9. In this regard, Singapore would like to reiterate our commitment to UNCITRAL's objectives and would be happy to assist UNCITRAL in its training programmes to the extent that we can. We also pledge to continue to support initiatives to harmonise the laws affecting international trade. We hope that more states would join in and commit resources to this important work that can only benefit all of us.
Thank you, Mr Chairman.
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