Faculty of Law

The Secretary of UNCITRAL Mrs Anna Joubin-Bret Gave a Talk on Current Developments in International Trade Law

The Secretary of UNCITRAL Mrs Anna Joubin-Bret Gave a Talk on Current Developments in International Trade Law

© Faculty of Law, HSE

On 23rd September we had the honour to welcome Mrs Anna Joubin-Bret (Secretary of UNCITRAL) with her lecture about UNCITRAL's mandate, experience and current practices. Mrs Anna Joubin-Bret is the Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and Director of the Division on International Trade Law in the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations. The event was held in a hybrid format (in-person and online via ZOOM conference) in the framework of the HSE Research Seminar on International Law organised by the School of International Law of the Faculty of Law and was available for all interested students, academics and practitioners. Overall more than 70 people participated in the event.

In her presentation, Madam Secretary covered the mandate of UNCITRAL, including the various legislative texts UNCITRAL is currently working on. In particular, participants learned about the practice and crosscutting issues of the Working Group III ISDS Reform, instruments on mediation and arbitration.  Special attention was devoted to the legal issues arising from the digital economy and the way trade has been impacted by the notorious COVID-19 pandemic. Madam Secretary introduced participants to the UNCITRAL's practice in helping states and other stakeholders to recover from the pandemic's negative economic effects through various legislative endeavours, aimed (among others) at MSMEs' credit access, digitalisation of trade and other legal guarantees.

Right after the presentation, participants were able to ask Mrs Anna Joubin-Bret their questions and participate in the discussion related to the covered issues or pertained to UNCITRAL's practice. Participants enquired about the course of ISDS' reform discussion, states' potential proposals, as well as digital trade and digital dispute resolution's novels in the sphere of AI development. All discussions and ideas appeared to be fruitful and engaging. The future of international trade and law is bright, thanks to UNCITRAL's active work and the promising next generation of international lawyers.
The Faculty of Law expresses its highest esteem and gratitude to Mrs Anna Joubin-Bret and the United Nations Commission of International Trade Law and hopes to continue the cooperation in future educational and academic projects.