11 Oct 2010
STATEMENT BY MR. DAREN TANG, DELEGATE TO THE 65th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 77, ON THE REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW ON THE WORK OF ITS FORTY-THIRD SESSION, SIXTH COMMITTEE, 11 OCTOBER 2010
1. Madame Chair, I would first like to join the other representatives in congratulating Your Excellency on your election as Chairperson of the Sixth Committee. On a similar note, I would also like to congratulate the other members of the Bureau on their election. The delegation of Singapore wishes you and the members of your Bureau every success and assures you of Singapore's unqualified support and cooperation during the deliberations of this Committee.
2. Singapore would like to congratulate UNCITRAL for another productive year. We note with satisfaction the successful completion of the forty-third Session of the Commission which, among other things, completed the revision of the 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and also finalised and approved a statement on UNCITRAL's Rules of Procedure and Methods of Work. This latter outcome is important as it provides clarity on the responsibilities of member states of UNCITRAL and the extent to which others, especially NGOs, can be of assistance to UNCITRAL in its work. It underscores the fact that UNCITRAL is an organization of states committed to the promotion of international trade.
3. Singapore, being an international arbitration hub and one of the fastest growing arbitration centres in the world, is particularly pleased at the completion of the 2010 revisions to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. This is an achievement that has been eagerly awaited by many users of international commercial arbitration services. The 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules have served international trade and the international commercial arbitration community extremely well for nearly 30 years. It is the model for many other arbitration rules used by arbitration institutions. However given developments in technology as well as arbitral practices, the 1976 Rules required updating. The 2010 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules are thus a welcome development in international commercial arbitration. These revisions will ensure that the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules will continue to be relevant, despite changing circumstances, and will be the preferred rules for international commercial arbitration for many years to come.
4. It is however unfortunate that the revision of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules took a long time to complete. This was despite the Commission's numerous reminders to the Working Group working on the revisions to expedite its work. Such delays are regrettably not unique to this Working Group. At the forty-third Session of the Commission, Singapore, like many other delegations, urged a number of Working Groups to work apace on a number of instruments. We hope that participants in UNCITRAL deliberations will bear the need for timely progress in mind. Delays consume resources, which particularly affects developing nations with limited capacity. Immense costs in terms of time, effort and expenses are incurred each time State representatives are sent to attend UNCITRAL Working Group meetings. It is thus important to study ways in which UNCITRAL can optimise the utilisation of limited resources and enhance the efficiency of UNCITRAL processes.
5. In the same vein, it is crucial that UNCITRAL dedicates its limited resources towards completing the work that it is mandated to do. We must constantly remind ourselves and also UNCITRAL that UNCITRAL's mandate is to further the progressive harmonisation and unification of the law of international trade. While there are many areas of work which participants in UNCITRAL deliberations may find interesting, we should resist the temptation to stray from UNCITRAL's mandate as a key institution in the harmonization of legal rules applicable to transnational commercial transactions. Uniformity in the legal rules applicable to such transactions promotes their growth and a higher volume of cross-border commercial transactions in turn promote greater prosperity and well-being for the peoples of the world. It also strengthens understanding and inter-dependence amongst different nations. UNCITRAL is therefore an important contributor to world peace.
6. In order for UNCITRAL to fulfill this vital role of promoting world peace through harmonising international trade law, UNCITRAL should channel its resources towards the formulation of effective rules which would make the most impact in creating greater uniformity in international trade law.
7. In this regard, Singapore takes the view that the output of UNCITRAL should be useful to countries who are looking for practical legal solutions to harmonise international trade law. Instruments that have lesser impact, such as guidelines, may be easier and even more interesting to work on as compared to international conventions and model rules, but given their relative informality, the intellectual rigour that would go into the formulation of other, more formal, instruments are often not present in their formulation. Moreover, guidelines can accommodate a variety of views, even those which are conflicting. They thus often do not have the same level of certainty as the rules found in international conventions and model laws. As such, they are of limited value in the harmonization of international trade law.
8. Singapore therefore hopes that UNCITRAL would continue to focus on producing high quality international conventions and model laws which form the cornerstone of national legal rules on cross-border commercial transactions throughout the world. In this way, UNCITRAL, which has always been able to distinguish itself from other international legal bodies, would continue to enjoy a high level of prestige internationally and attract support, participation and representation from States.
9. Singapore, on its part, will continue to participate actively in the work of UNCITRAL to the extent that our resources permit. We reiterate our support for UNCITRAL in the work it does to facilitate international trade and we hope that more States would join in and commit resources to this important work that can only benefit all of us.
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