UNCITRAL-HCCH Joint Sessions
on the Cross-Border Legal Dimensions of Digital Trade
At its March 2026 meeting, CGAP mandated the PB, subject to available resources, to continue cooperating and coordinating with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) with respect to work on digital platforms, digital payments, and secured transactions in light of digital developments (C&D No. 15(b)). At its 59th session, held in New York from 29 June to 10 July 2026, the UNCITRAL Commission agreed to hold joint sessions with the HCCH to address topics relating to digital trade. These Joint Sessions provide an important opportunity to bring together the work of our two organisations, examine the interaction between our respective approaches, and identify areas for closer cooperation and coordination.
9 –12 November 2026
Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria
The first Joint Session will bring together the work of UNCITRAL on digital platforms, digital payments and secured transactions involving digital assets, and the work of the HCCH, including its ongoing projects concerning central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), digital tokens and digital economy. It will provide an opportunity to examine the cross-border legal dimensions of these developments, with particular attention to the interaction and complementarity of the work undertaken by the two Organisations.
Key Documents of the First Joint Session:
- A/CN.9/S-1/1 - Annotated programme (Available on the UNCITRAL website)
- HCCH’s work on the cross-border legal dimensions of digital trade - Background paper
- HCCH’s work on the cross-border legal dimensions of digital trade – Issues for discussion
- A/CN.9/S-1/2 - UNCITRAL’s work on secured transactions involving digital assets, digital payments and digital platforms – Background paper (advance copy) (Available on the UNCITRAL website)
- A/CN.9/S-1/3 - UNCITRAL’s work on secured transactions involving digital assets, digital payments and digital platforms – Issues for discussion (advance copy) (Available on the UNCITRAL website)
19 to 22 January 2027
Permanent Bureau of the HCCH, The Hague, The Netherlands
The Joint Session in Vienna will be followed by a second Joint Session, to be hosted by the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH in The Hague from 19 to 22 January 2027. The two Joint Sessions are conceived as a single, progressive process, allowing for continued examination of the relevant legal questions and the identification of areas for further cooperation and coordination.
Further information concerning the second Joint Session will be made available in due course.
