☝️ UNCITRAL Adopts Long-Awaited Amendments Expressly Permitting Electronic Arbitration Agreements, Awards and Arbitration Communications by Email

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), at its 59th annual session in New York, adopted a series of instruments aimed at simplifying the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards in electronic form and facilitating electronic communications in international commercial arbitration. The package was prepared by Working Group II on Dispute Resolution as part of the project on the digital economy, based on an initiative put forward by Japan in 2024, as well as proposals from Bahrain, Switzerland and Mexico.

The amendments were introduced through “soft law” rather than by amending the New York Convention itself, as such a measure would have required the consent of all 170 States parties to the Convention.

Under the adopted recommendation, the New York Convention should be interpreted so that a national court may not refuse recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award solely on the ground that the award is in electronic form.

The following amendments were also made to the UNCITRAL Model Law:

🔘Article 2 (Definitions): an award in electronic form also constitutes an arbitration award for the purposes of the Model Law;

🔘Article 3 (Exchange of Written Communications): an electronic communication is deemed to have been received if the method of transmission allows the sending of the communication to a designated electronic address to be recorded. An electronic communication is deemed to have been received on the date on which it is sent, while an electronic notice of arbitration is deemed to have been received on the date on which it reaches the addressee’s electronic address;

🔘Article 7 (Arbitration Agreement): the requirement that an arbitration agreement be in writing is satisfied by electronic communication where the information contained in the electronic communication is accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference;

🔘Article 31 (Form and Contents of an Award): where the parties have expressly agreed, or in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the parties are deemed to have agreed to the issuance of an arbitration award in electronic form;

🔘Article 35 (Recognition and Enforcement): recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award in electronic form may not be refused solely on the ground that the award was issued in electronic form.

The updated UNCITRAL Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings instruct arbitral tribunals to consult with the parties in advance when issuing an arbitration award in electronic form regarding any specific requirements or restrictions applicable in the jurisdiction where enforcement of the award is contemplated.

UNCITRAL Chair Ann-Jouban Bré emphasized that the amendments “respond to the trend towards the digitalization of trade and build on UNCITRAL’s existing framework for electronic commerce, ensuring interoperability between the existing architecture of arbitration regulation and the digital economy.”

📎The news release is available at the link. The text of the amendments is available at the link.

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