what is the united nations commission on international trade law uncitral 
the term united nations commission on international trade law uncitral refers to a subsidiary body of the united nations general assembly established in 1966 uncitral is the core legal body of the u n s system in the field of international trade law 1 the official function of uncitral is to modernize and harmonize the rules of international business the organization is responsible for helping to facilitate international trade and investment it is headquartered in new york with annual sessions held alternatively in vienna understanding the united nations commission on international trade law uncitral the united nations established the united nations commission on international trade law uncitral in 1966 the move was in response to the rapid rise of global trade that took place in the 1960s at the time national governments recognized the need for harmonized global standards to replace the various national and regional regulations which until then largely governed international trade uncitral is headquartered in new york which is the same location as the u n s headquarters annual sessions take place once each year usually in the summer and are held alternatively in new york and at the vienna international centre in vienna 1the organization operates on the premise that international trade has global benefits for its participants with increasing economic interdependence globally uncitral seeks to help expand and facilitate global trade through the progressive harmonization and modernization of the law of international trade through the salient areas of commercial law its mandate covers 2the organization is also responsible for coordinating the work of other bodies active in international trade both within and outside of the un to enhance cooperation consistency and efficiency while avoiding duplication uncitral aims to formulate modern fair and harmonized rules for such commercial transactions its work includes conventions model laws and rules which are acceptable worldwide legal and legislative guides and practical recommendations updated information on case law and enactments of uniform commercial law technical assistance in law reform projects and regional and national seminars on uniform commercial law 3according to uncitral much of the complex network of international legal rules and agreements that affect today s commercial arrangements were reached through long and detailed consultations and negotiations organized by the organization special considerationsthe un general assembly elects members for terms of six years these aren t unison though as the terms of half of the members expire every three years in this way no country or bloc should be able to dominate the organization 4membership of uncitral is determined by the u n general assembly the original membership comprised 29 member states of the u n but this number was expanded to 36 in 1973 its membership grew again in 2004 to 60 states and again in 2022 with a total of 70 member states 35 states represent a variety of legal traditions and levels of economic development member states are deliberately chosen to be globally representative the organization aims to include 14 african states 14 asian states eight eastern european states 10 latin american and caribbean states 14 western european states and others as of june 2022 though there were a total of 65 member states 6 the table below highlights each member state along with their respective three year expiry dates the commission allows states to attend annual sessions even if they re non members the organization refers to them as observer states under the guidelines observer states are authorized to take part in the efforts to achieve a generally acceptable text but cannot vote or object to any recorded decisions 7