On 11 July 2013, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (transparency rules), which will come into force on 1 April 2014.

While confidentiality is a valued feature of commercial arbitration, there is a particular need for transparency in investor-state disputes, which involve issues of public interest, as well as taxpayer funds. In 2010, acknowledging this need, and following the publication of the revised UNCITRAL arbitration rules, the UNCITRAL Working Group II resumed discussions on transparency in investment arbitration. Since then, the working group has continued to meet twice a year to negotiate on the draft rules (see UNCITRAL Working Group II: tracker).

The transparency rules will apply to treaty-based investor-state arbitration. Future treaties referring disputes to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules will be subject to the transparency rules unless the parties agree otherwise. Therefore, a new set of UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, which were also adopted on 11 July, will come into force on 1 April 2014 too. The new rules will include a paragraph ensuring that the link between these rules and the transparency rules is clear.

The new transparency rules are not limited to arbitrations conducted under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. They are available for use in investor-state arbitrations initiated under other rules, or in ad hoc proceedings.

UNCITRAL will now prepare a convention on the application of the transparency rules to disputes arising under existing investment treaties.

Source: United Nations Information Service: UNCITRAL adopts Transparency Rules for treaty-based investor-State arbitration and amends the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.