Second Working Meeting of the Digital Tokens Project
The second working meeting of the Digital Tokens Project was held in hybrid format from 7 to 8 October 2024, hosted by the Permanent Bureau (PB) in The Hague. The meeting was attended by 41 participants, identified to the PB by 14 HCCH Members and seven Observers, as well as by members of the PB.
During the meeting, participants discussed intersessional submissions in response to the project Scope Paper, which were directed at clarifying the scope and aims of future work in the Digital Tokens Project. In addition, members of the Asociación Americana de Derecho Internacional Privado (ASADIP) presented the results of a joint HCCH-ASADIP survey to gather input from Latin American jurisdictions. The survey was prepared with the support of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC).
The participants discussed core terms and definitions used under the project, as well as issues relating to jurisdiction and choice of forum, applicable law and choice of law, recognition and enforcement, and international cooperation mechanisms. The participants unanimously concluded that further work on the study of the private international law issues relating to Digital Tokens is desirable, necessary and feasible, and agreed on proposals for next steps in the Project.
On 9 October, participants attended a technical roundtable organised adjacent to the second working meeting, featuring industry practitioners and private international law experts discussing real-world use cases of digital tokens.
The PB will submit a report of the outcomes of this phase of the Digital Tokens Project, including proposals for next steps, to the Council on General Affairs and Policy ahead of its 2025 meeting.
The Digital Tokens Project commenced in March 2024 under a mandate of the Council on General Affairs and Policy (see Conclusion & Decision No 12). Under this project, the PB, in partnership with relevant subject-matter experts and Observers, is studying the private international law issues relating to digital tokens.