United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts

The United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (the 'Electronic Communications Convention', or ECC) is a treaty that aims at facilitating the use of electronic communications in international trade. It was prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 23 November 2005. Pursuant to Article 23, it entered into force on 1 March 2013, the first day of the month after six months passed following adoption by three States parties, namely the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Singapore. The United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (the 'Electronic Communications Convention', or ECC) is a treaty that aims at facilitating the use of electronic communications in international trade. It was prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 23 November 2005. Pursuant to Article 23, it entered into force on 1 March 2013, the first day of the month after six months passed following adoption by three States parties, namely the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Singapore. The following states have ratified, accepted, approved, acceded to, or succeeded to the Electronic Communications Convention: The Electronic Communications Convention has been signed, but not yet ratified, by the Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Iran, Lebanon, Madagascar, Panama, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Other states that have publicly declared their intention of adopting the Electronic Communications Convention include Australia, Bahrain, Benin, Mauritius, and Thailand. Canada has prepared uniform legislation to facilitate the adoption of the ECC at the State level, which has been enacted by Ontario and Saskatchewan. Similar legislation has been prepared in the United States and on 10 February 2016 President Obama sent a message to the Senate asking for accession of the Convention. In Australia all states and territories and the Federal parliament have passed amending legislation to conform to the Convention. UNCITRAL has been active in formulating uniform legislative standards for the use of electronic communications in trade since the 1980s. A first result of such work was the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, 1996 (MLEC), followed by the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures (MLES), 2001. However, a number of issues remained unsolved, namely, the possibility to enable to use of electronic communications in cases where a formal written requirement is mandated by another treaty, usually drafted before the widespread use of electronic means. Moreover, as model laws may be enacted with variations in the various jurisdictions, it was felt that establishing a core of common provisions would increase uniformity and therefore predictability in international trade law. Finally, it was felt that some of the provisions of the MLEC and of the MLES could be outdated and complemented. As a result, the Electronic Communications Convention addresses different policy goals:1) it removes obstacles arising from formal requirements contained in other international trade law treaties;2) it provides a common substantive core to the law of electronic communications, thus ensuring a higher level of uniformity both in the legislative text and in its interpretation;3) it updates and complements the provisions of the MLEC and of the MLES;4) it provides core legislation on electronic communications to those States not having yet any, or having partial and insufficient provisions. Article 14.5.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership sets forth that: 'Each Party shall maintain a legal framework governing electronic transactions consistent with the principles of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce 1996 or the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, done at New York November 23, 2005'. With respect to substantive provisions, the Electronic Communications Convention builds extensively, on the fundamental principles of the uniform law of electronic commerce developed by UNCITRAL (non-discrimination, technological neutrality, functional equivalence, and irrelevance of place of origin) as well as on several specific articles of the MLEC and of the MLES.