UNCITRAL is assessing the feasibility of new legal instruments in the age of digital trade and finance

From 10 to 13 February 2026, UNCITRAL The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) develops conventions, model laws, guidelines, and other instruments in the field of international trade.  held a Colloquium on harmonizing law in the age of digital trade and finance. The ICLRC participated as an observer in Working Group IV, and the ICLRC’s expert Nikolay Dmitrik delivered a presentation. The colloquium was organized into two intertwined streams: one devoted to digital finance and the other to digital platforms. The goal was to understand the feasibility of different approaches and the form that possible future instruments could take.

Issues surrounding the conversion of data into money

The main idea of the first colloquium stream can be described as converting data into money. More formally, the stream was devoted to what is now called the "Internet of Value," which is the technological, legal, and organizational infrastructure aimed at the exchange of digital assets. Experts discussed the typology of digital tokens and the challenge of striking the right balance between approaches based on controlling and registering digital assets. They also addressed issues such as the protection of good faith purchasers, the regulation of custody agreements, and the enforcement of security rights in the event of insolvency.

The issue of legal portability also arises during the cross-border exchange of digital assets, i.e., when an instrument can move seamlessly across borders. It is a jurisdictional issue: who decides, under what law, and under what conditions, whether a digital asset is recognized? It was mentioned that, for this reason, the effects of any registration or exchange system extend far beyond the system itself. Another topic of discussion was whether data could be the subject of a security interest when securing a loan. Although experts agreed that data is not property, the problem of data being a non-rivalrous asset greatly impacts the implementation and enforcement of security rights on digital data. If something has commercial value, it can be used as collateral. However, the scope of the Model Law on Secured Transactions as well as the definition of digital assets must be redefined.

The panel on digital platforms for digital assets brought together both streams of the colloquium. Based on their analysis of several digital platforms, the experts raised the issue of explainable infrastructure as a prerequisite for user trust. They also pointed out the issue of finding the right approach to address the variety of infrastructures.

Topics discussed during that stream of the Colloquium included the legal regime of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), the risks introduced by using AI in financial transactions, Liechtenstein’s TVTG as a comprehensive legal act on the token economy, and receiver finance as a self-liquidating transaction.

Based on the discussions and materials presented during the colloquium, the Secretariat will prepare a proposal to amend the UNCITRAL Model Laws on Secured Transactions (MLST) and Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), which it will then report to the Commission.

Exploratory work on digital platforms

The second stream was devoted to defining approaches to digital platforms. As Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of UNCITRAL, explained, the Commission is in the exploratory stage with this topic and needs to define the scope of future work that aligns with UNCITRAL's current mandate. Proponents of the UNCITRAL initiative further explained that the scope of work may include discussions on a harmonized definition of platforms, the contractual relationship between platform operators and users, and user contracts on platforms. This project is feasible for UNCITRAL because platform operators facilitate trade and influence the terms of contracts concluded on their platforms.

The Office on Emerging Technologies, the newest office of the UN, presented its work to the participants of the colloquium and explained the scope and impact of the Global Digital Compact as a UN policy instrument. According to the document, digital technologies are a key component of how governments interact with each other across five areas: bridging the digital divide, fostering the digital economy through cross-border trade, ensuring online safety, enabling data interoperability and sharing, and developing AI.

The majority of the discussion was devoted to the risks and challenges posed by platforms as new players with overwhelming market power in the digital economy. The experts discussed the status of platform operators as rulemakers and the possibility of narrowing their discretionary power. They also discussed the feasibility of the good faith principle in contract law with regard to this issue. Another topic was the enforcement of rules by states on platform operators and by platform operators on users. It was mentioned that different national requirements cause the legal landscape for platforms to become fragmented, while users require predictability, transparency, and legal certainty.

The main focus of the discussions was the contracting architecture of digital platforms and how the instruments of the applicable contractual law may be used to make online platform rulebooks more certain, transparent, and fair. Several examples were brought to the discussion, including practices from the Digital Container Shipping Association, the ELI Rules on Online Platforms, and the principles of the Hangzhou Initiative. During the discussion of contract architecture, several experts presented evidence of the feasibility of the "triangle" architecture or "network effect" of contractual relationships, including examples from common law practice.

Relative autonomy of global online platforms

During his panel presentation, Nikolay Dmitrik, the ICLRC expert, drew attention to the relative autonomy of global online platforms that makes private law approaches to regulating platform activity more efficient than public law ones. At the same time, the relative autonomy and contracting power of such platforms presuppose the ineffectiveness of any regulatory attempts without the proper representation of online platforms in the discussion. Based on these observations, Nikolay proposed a multistakeholder approach to developing global benchmarks for fair platform rules. He also shared his insights on the current architecture and operations of online marketplaces in the Eurasian region.

Report to the Commission

The Secretariat pointed out that, in its report to the Commission, it will summarize the discussions on the two focal points.

The first is whether the work should focus on enhancing existing contract rules or creating new private law rights and responsibilities.

The second is whether digital platforms should be limited to those that supply goods or if they should include any platforms with centralized operators.