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The United Nations issued the following press release:
The link between commercial law reform and a culture based on the rule of law was emphasised today, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Introducing the report on the work of UNCITRAL's resumed fortieth and forty-first sessions, its Chairman, Rafael Illescas Ortiz, told the committee that, by laying down the foundations for long-term stability, development, empowerment and good governance, commercial law reforms constituted the economic dimension of building such a culture.
Summarizing the forty-first session, Mr. Illescas Ortiz said that, while much had been achieved in the regulatory framework for air, sea and land transport, the area of private law governing carriage of goods by sea was "obsolete, unpredictable and inconsistent". A truly global regime governing door-to-door carriage was essential if loopholes in unregulated areas were to be closed. Thus, after more than six years of intensive negotiations, the draft Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea had been finalized, ready for adoption by the General Assembly.
The representative of India told the Committee this new legal regime would generate greater commercial confidence in international trade. The draft convention provided a comprehensive framework for regulating all aspects of international carriage of goods and helped fill gaps in transport regimes.
Iran's representative acknowledged the importance of the Commission's work and called for technical assistance to developing countries in implementation. He said the draft convention would contribute to settling disputes between shippers, carriers and third parties.
The delegate of Cameroon also called for technical assistance to developing countries and said certain provisions of the convention were uneven by remaining silent on issues; some placed an excessive burden on the shipper.
Calling the draft convention the Commission's "most important achievement of the past year", Austria's representative said promoting the rule of law in commercial relations was part of United Nations rule of law activities. Implementation and effective use of modern international trade law standards were essential to advancing the rule of law, sustained economic development, and the eradication of poverty and hunger.
Noting that a host of general agreements had been negotiated since the end of the apartheid regime, South...