Since 2020 (see C&D No 15) following on the decision of the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the HCCH (CGAP), the Permanent Bureau has studied the impact of recent developments in the fields of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and financial technology (fintech), with the aim of identifying private international law issues for potential future work. This work was organised under the Digital Economy Project in 2021. The Permanent Bureau has continued to monitor and report on significant developments in the field of the digital economy with implications for private international law, encompassing topics such as decentralisation, DLT, digital platforms, artificial intelligence and automated contracting, asset tokenisation, digital currencies, immersive technologies, big data, and fintech.
The research and monitoring of developments under the Digital Economy Project have resulted in the commencement of multiple projects on the private international law implications of Central Bank Digital Currencies, Digital Tokens, and Voluntary Carbon Markets.
The Permanent Bureau is currently tasked, in accordance with the mandate of CGAP at its 2024 meeting (see C&D No 11), and subject to available resources, to monitor developments with respect to the digital economy, with a view to identifying private international law issues for potential future work. The mandate also includes monitoring of developments with respect to digital platforms, artificial intelligence and automated contracting, and immersive technologies (in partnership with subject-matter experts and with UNCITRAL).
The Permanent Bureau also monitors and assesses developments in intellectual property in light of the work programme relating to the digital economy (C&D Nos 16-17), and the treatment of digital transactions and digital assets in restructuring and insolvency proceedings (C&D Nos 13-15).
Separately, CGAP also mandated the Permanent Bureau, in partnership with subject-matter experts, and subject to available resources, to study the determination of jurisdiction and applicable law in the context of securities markets in light of developments in technology such as DLT, and to assess the ramifications of the growing attention that financial services and securities industries have accorded to developments in technology. The Permanent Bureau is also mandated to identify opportunities, in the context of the digital economy, for the desirability and feasibility of future normative guidance concerning securities (see C&D No 54).
To gather viewpoints on the most compelling private international law questions concerning the digital economy, the Permanent Bureau held the inaugural HCCH CODIFI Conference online from 12 to 16 September 2022, following the mandate of CGAP at its 2022 meeting (see C&Ds No 14, 34 and 36).
The 2022 HCCH CODIFI Conference panellists and participants engaged in a far-ranging examination of issues of private international law in the commercial, digital, and financial sectors, highlighting developments in the digital economy and fintech industries as well as clarifying the roles of core HCCH instruments concerning commercial and financial law: the 1985 Trusts Convention, the 2006 Securities Convention, and the Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts (Choice of Law Principles).
The 2022 HCCH CODIFI Conference brought together panellists and participants from a range of backgrounds, drawing on the expertise of specialists in public service and government, legal practice, finance, the technology sector, the diplomatic community and academia. The 2022 HCCH CODIFI Conference was organised into multiple thematic tracks based on the Digital Economy, Trusts, Securities and the Choice of Law Principles. The final session plan and session descriptions are available here.
A playlist of nearly all sessions of the Conference is available here.
- Prel. Doc. No 5A of February 2024 - Private International Law Aspects of the Digital Economy: Report
- Prel. Doc. No 3A of January 2023 - Digital Economy and the HCCH Conference on Commercial, Digital and Financial Law Across Borders (CODIFI Conference): Report
- Prel. Doc. No 4 REV of January 2022 - Developments with respect to PIL Implications of the Digital Economy
- Prel. Doc. 4 of November 2020 – Developments with respect to PIL implications of the digital economy
- Blockchain: Implications for Private International Law (PPT)
- Blockchain and Fintech: Some Private International Law Questions (PPT)
- HCCH 1985 Trusts Convention (PPT)
- HCCH 2006 Securities Convention: Origins and Future Developments in a Digital World (PPT)
- HCCH 2015 Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts (PPT)