Developments in Private International Law: Facilitating Cross-border Transactions and Dispute Resolution

The year 2005 was a banner year for the three major intergovernmental organizations involved in harmonization of private international law.I The Hague Conference on Private International Law completed its long-awaited Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted a Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts which was endorsed by the U.N. General Assembly. While the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) did not complete work on any project in 2005, the deposit of the eighth instrument of ratification in November 2005 brought its Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and an Aircraft Protocol into force.