"Economy and tourism" and"UNCITRAL" They explore the prospects for developing a legislative system for trade and digital platforms

Dubai, 10 December / WAM / The first session of the Global Forum for Digital Trade and Digital Platforms, which was launched by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism in cooperation with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), witnessed the holding of 6 dialogue sessions and a round table meeting over the course of 8 and 9 December, with the participation of more than 300 ministers, government officials, legal experts, innovators in the private sector, policy makers, senior executives, owners of global digital platforms and leading technology companies, in addition to representatives of technical teams. International and international universities concerned with digital commerce and digital platforms from more than 17 countries.

The forum sessions aimed to develop a new roadmap for developing an integrated and competitive legislative system for digital trade and digital platforms at the regional and global levels, by benefiting from the trade law through the UAE’s modern technological means, and in line with the accelerating transformations of the digital economy. The sessions focused on analyzing the current legislative reality, and revealing the gaps and challenges resulting from the increasing growth of digital transactions.

The forum sessions provided an extensive assessment of the feasibility of preparing a unified legal framework that regulates the work of digital commerce and digital platforms, and provides a legislative reference that helps countries and judicial authorities harmonize their legal policies and enhances the clarity of the rules of dealing in the digital environment, in a way that supports the clarity of governance mechanisms in a global digital environment that is developing at a rapid pace.

In detail, the agenda of the first day of the forum witnessed 3 dialogue sessions, the first of which was entitled “From e-commerce to digital commerce and platform governance: legal tools for a new economy,” with the participation of Anna Jobin Brett, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL); Dr. Teresa Rodriguez, Professor of Commercial Law at Carlos III University of Madrid; Hassan Al-Kilani, the main legal advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, while the session was moderated by lawyer Issam Al-Tamimi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Tamimi & Partners.

The session addressed a number of vital topics in the digital landscape, including platform governance mechanisms from e-commerce to digital commerce, digital banks, regulating “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services, and blockchain applications, in addition to challenges related to compliance and interoperability for cross-border payments. The session highlighted the pivotal role of UNCITRAL in supporting the digital platform economy, by reviewing legislation related to transactions in electronic commercial documents, digital assets, and settlement of Commercial disputes and platform-based services that enhance trust in the digital environment, such as electronic documentation, as well as UNCITRAL’s future vision in the field of digital trade and platform governance.

The second session, entitled “Trust, Tokens, and Transactions: The Future of Digital Banking and Finance,” examined the transformations led by modern financial technology, especially in light of the integration of smart goods with digital services, and the increasing role of artificial intelligence in developing compliance standards and responsibilities of service providers, and enhancing consumer expectations. Dr. Aisha Bint Lootah, Assistant Vice President for Licensing, Supervision and Guarantee Affairs at the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, participated in the session; Bogdan Dino, Head of Product Innovation at Visa for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Kregor Janssen, Head of Legal and Board Secretary at Wio Bank.

Speakers at the session reviewed the applications of artificial intelligence in logistics, fraud prevention, and improving user experiences, in addition to the legal challenges associated with hybrid products. The session concluded by presenting governance models that support digital efficiency, maintain data integrity, and ensure the continuity of financial services in a digital environment whose pace is accelerating year after year.

The third session, entitled “Accelerating transformations in smart commercial goods and integrated digital services,” discussed the axes of integration between smart goods and digital services, with a focus on the growing role of artificial intelligence in reshaping conformity standards, liability systems, and consumer requirements.

Participating in the session were Mohammed Abu Hamra, Chief Operating Officer, Digital Technology at DB World; Elham Al Qasim, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Holding; Rasha Khalifa Al Mubarak, founder and CEO of Music Nation; and Dr. Gerardine Go Escoular, Deputy Secretary-General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

The session also touched on applications of predictive logistics, anti-fraud, and adaptive use experiences, in addition to discussing the legal dimensions of hybrid products. The session also presented governance models that support enhancing digital efficiency, protecting data, and ensuring service continuity in a digital environment witnessing rapid changes.

The second day of the forum witnessed 3 dialogue sessions and a round table meeting, which began with an opening speech presented by Anna Jobin Brett, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), during which she reviewed the most prominent themes and discussions of the first day and the technical details of the second day. She emphasized the close connection between the Forum’s work and UNCITRAL’s exploratory efforts to develop a unified legal framework for trade and digital platforms, stressing the importance of the discussion paper prepared by the General Secretariat of the Committee to guide the discussion and focus it on the main legal topics.

A session entitled “The Importance of Platforms in Creating Digital Spaces for International Trade” highlighted the importance of the growing role of platform operators in creating digital spaces for international trade, as well as the types of platforms most important for international trade, and the role of their operators in facilitating and supervising commercial operations across platforms, with the participation of Dr. Gerardine Go Escoular, Deputy Secretary-General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law; Torbjørn Fredriksson, Head of the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Branch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and Dr. Teresa Rodriguez, Professor of Commercial Law at Carlos III University of Madrid.

Speakers stressed that platform operators are no longer just intermediaries, but have become key players in creating new markets, managing buying and selling operations, raising financing, resolving disputes, and operating supply chains and distribution models, noting that their role is not always in line with traditional legal roles.

The second session, entitled “Unified Legal Legislation: Contracts and the Operation of Digital Platforms,” discussed the importance of providing a unified legal framework for contractual relationships in digital platforms, with the participation of David Yates, partner at Al Tamimi & Company; Liu Ying, Chinese delegate to UNCITRAL Working Group IV; Lygia Gonzalez; Mexican delegate to UNCITRAL Working Group IV; Tan Cheng Han of the National University of Singapore; and Mateusz Grochowski of Tulane University.

The speakers emphasized that digital platforms are based on a network of triangular contracts. The first is a contract between the platform operator and the user to determine the terms of use, and the second is contracts between the users themselves. The session reviewed the legal questions about the description of the contract between the platform and the user, and its impact on the rights and obligations of the platform operator towards users, including disclosure, avoiding unfair practices, and commitment to due diligence, in addition to how to integrate digital platforms within the existing rules and principles of contract law.

The third session, entitled “The Role of Contracts in the Governance of Digital Platforms,” focused on legislation and regulatory initiatives to address the impact of digital platform operators on commercial activities, as well as policies for rebalancing the relationship between the platform and companies, and protecting the legitimate expectations of users in their relationships between companies, while emphasizing the importance of the contractual framework as a basis for digital platform operations.

The session also reviewed how concerned parties can benefit from these legal responses to enhance the governance of digital platforms, with the participation of Dr. Chaichana Mitterpant, Executive Director of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency in Thailand; Huo Ping, partner at King & Wood Mallesons; and Christoph Busch from the European Law Institute (ELI). The session focused on the model rules for electronic platforms issued by ELI, with the aim of clarifying how the contractual framework interacts with local and international legislation and enhancing the governance of digital platforms at the global level.

The forum concluded with a roundtable meeting that brought together the Ministry of Economy and Tourism with the General Secretariat of UNCITRAL, with the aim of drawing conclusions and discussing the challenges of recommendations related to legal topics, including the discussion paper on the unified legal framework for trade and digital platforms. This meeting was in preparation for assimilating these outputs into a future coordinated legal text on digital platforms and private law.

It was also announced that the second session of the Global Forum for Digital Trade and Digital Platforms would be held in Spain, to complete efforts to develop a unified legislative framework for trade and digital platforms and translate them into practical steps.

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