Details

From 28 April to 1 May 2026, the Experts’ Group (EG) on Digital Tokens met for the third time. The meeting, held in hybrid format, had over 55 registered delegates and other experts, representing 18 HCCH Members and nine Observers, in addition to members of the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH.

Pursuant to its mandate, the EG made further progress on the study of the private international law (PIL) issues raised by digital tokens. In the EG’s first workstream, the EG agreed by consensus that a PIL instrument relating to electronic transferable records, which will be aligned with UNCITRAL’s Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records, is desirable and feasible, and that work should proceed towards a binding instrument, as the most desirable outcome. The EG participants worked on the development of the provisions for this PIL instrument, focusing on jurisdiction, applicable law, and international cooperation mechanisms.

Under the EG’s second workstream, the EG reached consensus on an approach that focused on PIL gaps in the framework relevant to the use and transfer of tokens in digitally mediated environments, using relational and ecosystem analysis to identify concrete problems while maintaining coherence with existing instruments and traditional PIL architecture. The EG also agreed that intersessional work would be undertaken to prepare a draft report on the recommended approach to be taken in future work and the PIL gaps identified by the EG, as well as a draft text of a possible recommended PIL framework.

The EG will continue with its deliberations at its fourth meeting, to be held in October 2026, at which it aims to decide on recommendations in relation to the direction of future work, including concrete recommendations for the possible scope and form of future deliverables. The EG will then present a report on the progress of its work to the Council on General Affairs and Policy in March 2027.

More information is available on the Digital Tokens Section of the HCCH website.