UNCITRAL's Next 60 Years Will Be About Inclusive, Tech-Responsive Commercial Law: AG R. Venkatramani
Attorney General R. Venkatramani on July 24 said that the next 60 years of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) would be about ensuring international commercial law remains inclusive, technologically responsive and truly global. He said this would be critical as international trade and commerce continue to evolve.
Delivering the welcome address at the international conference commemorating UNCITRAL's 60th anniversary, Venkatramani said the Commission had spent the last six decades harmonising international commercial law through internationally accepted legal standards.
He said these standards had made international commerce more predictable, dispute resolution more accessible and legal cooperation more inclusive.
"In the context of emerging contours of international trade and commerce, when we talk of fair outcomes, arbitration and mediation, notwithstanding their challenges, are close cousins of rule of law. In the last 60 years, it has been about harmonizing the law of international commerce. The next 60 will be undoubtedly about ensuring that this law remains inclusive, technologically responsive and truly global, as I said, about equality aspirations," he said.
Venkatramani said UNCITRAL's success lay in its ability to evolve alongside changing commercial realities. He noted that its work had expanded beyond arbitration to include insolvency, electronic commerce, secured transactions, and public procurement. He said the expansion reflected how UNCITRAL had evolved alongside changing business and commercial realities.
He said UNCITRAL had helped create a level playing field where commercial confidence was built not on geography or economic power but on shared legal standards.
"We are celebrating an institution that has made international commerce more predictable, dispute resolution more accessible and legal cooperation more inclusive. In doing so, UNCITRAL has helped create a level playing field where commercial confidence is built not on geography or economic power but on shared legal standards," he said.
Referring to the Silk Route, Venkatramani said the aspiration to build common legal principles governing international commerce was ancient. He said it reflected a long-standing effort to facilitate trade across borders while accommodating diversity.
"This common urge is ancient, as ancient as the silk route of the past. From the limited persuasion towards building laws and only partly common to all humankind, we are in the midst of capturing persuasions towards building the laws of both universal content, but a necessary diversity that can add the richness of universal content," he said.
Venkatramani also cautioned that UNCITRAL's continued relevance would depend on learning from the World Trade Organization's (WTO) failures.
"UNCITRAL's charm and relevance will remain if you learn lessons from the chronicles of WTO and its failures," he concluded.
The conference also featured addresses by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, all of whom reflected on the future of international commercial law, arbitration and cross-border dispute resolution.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said India has undertaken significant legislative reforms to emerge as a preferred global hub for arbitration and commercial dispute resolution.
He added that while the future of commercial law would increasingly be shaped by artificial intelligence, blockchain and online dispute resolution, it would also present new legal challenges requiring continued international cooperation.
In his words, "The AI era will present new legal challenges. How will artificial intelligence negotiate contracts? How will blockchain transform cross-border trade? Can online dispute resolution become globally interoperable? Addressing these emerging issues will require continued international cooperation, and UNCITRAL will remain at the forefront of building global legal consensus."
Meghwal further said, "Commerce moves rapidly, technology evolves even faster, and our legal institutions must evolve with equal agility."
He added that "our task is not merely to resolve today's disputes but to create predictive legal frameworks capable of addressing the disputes of tomorrow," noting that judges today increasingly handle multinational commercial transactions, digital evidence, cyber disputes, AI-enabled contracts and online dispute resolution.
Delivering the keynote address, Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant underscored the importance of arbitration and mediation in international commerce, observing that while arbitration resolves disputes, mediation preserves commercial relationships.
He described both mechanisms as indispensable pillars of the modern international trading system, sustained by the rule of law and effective judicial support.
He stated that "Arbitration and mediation represent two of the most enduring answers that the international legal order has fashioned to this question. Together, they ensure that commercial disputes become mere interruptions to trade rather than obstacles to it."
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar also highlighted the growing importance of harmonised legal frameworks in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
Observing that nations today seek "not just infrastructure and connectivity, but most of all, legal predictability," he said legal certainty, efficient dispute resolution mechanisms and harmonised commercial rules are becoming as important as economic connectivity in facilitating international trade.
Jaishankar said the next phase of international commercial law must be "more democratic, inclusive, and sensitive to the realities of the Global South," adding that "UNCITRAL has an important role in bridging differences, building consensus, and ensuring that international trade law remains relevant to all economies."