From October 13 to 17, 2025, the 82nd Session of Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was held in Vienna, Austria. CMAC was invited to attend the session as an observer institution. Mr. Cui Qiang, CMAC arbitrator and partner at the Commerce & Finance Law Offices, participated in the session on behalf of CMAC. The session focused on the recognition and enforcement of electronic awards and electronic notifications on organizing arbitral proceedings. While no final consensus was reached on the text, the deliberations will provide a pivotal underpinning for the digital transformation of international commercial arbitration.

(Session venue)

From December 15 to 19, 2025, the 47th Session of Working Group VI of UNCITRAL was held in Vienna, Austria. CMAC, participated as an observer, and sent Prof. Zheng Rui, CMAC arbitrator and Associate Professor at Law and Executive Deputy Director of the Maritime Law Research Center at Shanghai Maritime University, to attend the session as CMAC delegate. The session was focused on drafting the Explanatory Note to the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents (NCD Convention). During the week-long session, the CMAC delegate diligently fulfilled the duty of an observer, voicing the Chinese perspectives on multiple issues such as the selection of terminology notes, confirmation of document validity, and interpretation of key wording in the draft Explanatory Note.

Since becoming an observer to UNCITRAL Working Group II and Working Group VI in 2023, CMAC has been deeply involved in the rule-making and governance of the international arbitration. Moving forward, CMAC will continue to leverage its professional expertise to share Chinese best practices in areas such as recognition of the validity of electronic awards, and standards for electronic notifications. Meanwhile, it will actively participate in relevant topics such as the Explanatory Notes to the NCD Convention, and the implementation and application of the NCD Convention following its signing in 2026.