Relation between the transparency convention and existing investment treaties. The working group considered whether the transparency convention would constitute a successive treaty creating new obligations or whether it would constitute an amendment or modification to such investment treaties. Many delegates were in favour of a successive treaty creating new obligations, pursuant to article 30 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969). It was agreed that this matter would be considered further.

Unilateral offer to arbitrate under transparency rules. It was agreed that the transparency convention would apply when parties to a relevant investment treaty were also contracting parties to the transparency convention. The working group considered whether a contracting party's consent to the transparency convention would amount to a unilateral offer to an investor initiating a claim under a relevant investment treaty, where that investor's home state was not a party to the transparency convention, for that investor to accept the application of the transparency rules. It was agreed that the working group would consider a proposal to include a separate provision indicating that the convention amounted to a unilateral offer at a later stage.

Application to arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules or under all arbitration rules. The Working Group decided that the transparency convention should apply to disputes under all arbitral institutional rules which may be selected by an investor under a relevant investment treaty. However, a reservation under article 4 of the transparency convention was suggested that would enable parties to limit the application of the transparency convention to disputes under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules only.

Article 2: Interpretation. Although the working group considered deleting this, it subsequently agreed to re-consider it at the second reading.

Article 3: Use of the UNCITRAL Rules on transparency. The working group put forward a revised article 3 on the applicability of the transparency rules under which the instances where the rules could apply were more clearly set out, including whether the disputes were conducted under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules or not. The revised draft will be reviewed again at the second reading.

Article 4: Reservations. Contracting parties may declare that certain investment treaties fall outside the scope of the transparency convention. It was questioned whether a most favoured nation (MFN) clause in an investment treaty could be triggered by a carve-out of certain investment treaties from the transparency convention. The working group agreed to consider proposed wording, that a claimant can not avoid the application of the transparency rules by invoking the provisions of another treaty on the basis of an MFN clause, at the second reading. The working group considered the reservations and declarations that a state could make under the transparency convention, which are:

Bearing in mind those reservations and declarations, the working group proposed a new draft article 4 which will be considered further at the second reading.

Article 5: Depository. It was agreed that the Secretary-General of the United Nations will be the designated depository of the transparency convention.

Article 6: Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval, accession. The working group proposed amendments to the wording of draft article 6 regarding the signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the convention. The draft wording will be considered at the second reading.

Article 7: Effect in territorial limits. The working group decided to retain a revised version of article 7, which provides that a contracting state that has two or more territorial units, which are parties to investment treaties in their own name, may declare that the convention extends to all of its units or only to one or more of them. Delegates were requested to discuss the revised wording internally in advance of the second reading.

Article 8: Preparation by regional economic integration organisations. The working group agreed to delete a large part of article 8, which set out that the rights and obligations of regional economic integration organisations under the convention, while retaining and relocating part of it elsewhere in the convention.

Article 9: Entry into force. A consensus was achieved that the number of signatories required for the transparency convention to enter into force should be three.

Article 10: Time of application. This article determines the point in time when the convention would commence to apply in respect of arbitral proceedings. The convention would only apply prospectively, that is to arbitral proceedings commenced after the date when the convention entered into force in respect of individual contracting parties.

Article 11: Revision and amendment. The working group agreed to retain article 11, which allows, at the request of not less than one-third of contracting parties to the convention, the Secretary-General to convene a conference for revising or amending the convention.

Article 12: Denunciation of the convention. This sets out the process for contracting parties to denounce the convention.