COMMERCIAL USE OF INTER CHANGE A GREEMENTS FOR ELECTRONICDATA INTER CHANGE
At its thirty-third session in March 1991 the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures (WP.4) adopted the Programme of work relating to legal issues. Among six projects, this programme contained the specific project on ensuring reasonable harmonisation of interchange agreements and the development of an internationally accepted version for optional use.
The Working Party pointed out that any method of communication requires discipline in order to be effective. Such discipline is normally achieved by applying generally acceptable rules of conduct. In the EDI context, such rules have been developed as interchange agreements within a number of user groups, national organisations and regionally. These agreements generally apply only to the interchange of data and not to the underlying commercial contracts between the parties. They present in many instances different solutions with respect to the topics addressed and, as a result, by virtue of the number of agreements and the diversity of their terms, there is a possible barrier to international trade arising from the absence of an internationally acceptable form of agreement which may be adopted for use in commercial practice.
At its forty-first session in March 1995 the Working Party, on the basis of the report of the joint session of the Meetings of Experts on Data Elements and Data Interchange (GE.1) and on Procedures and Documentation (GE.2), agreed to approve the draft Recommendation containing the Model Interchange Agreement for the International Commercial Use of Electronic Data Interchange submitted by the WP.4/Legal Rapporteurs Team.
This Recommendation has been developed under Project 4.1 of the Action Programme on the Commercial and Legal Aspects of Trade Facilitation adopted by the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures, as set forth in TRADE/WP.41R.697 and includes the Model Interchange Agreement for the International Commercial Use of Electronic Data Interchange set forth in Annex A.
RECOMMENDATION
The Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures agreed to recommend that:
Recommendation No.26 adopted by the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures, Geneva, March 1995, ECE/TRADE/WP.4/R. 1133/Rev.1 [Edition 96.1]
1. The international community of EDI users, including commercial parties deciding to use Electronic Data Interchange in connection with international trade transactions, apply the Model Interchange Agreement for the International Commercial Use of Electronic Data Interchange as set out below in order to increase the legal security of their trading relationship.
2. United Nations member countries take into account the terms and provisions of the Model Interchange Agreement when introducing legislative and regulatory reforms, in order for these reforms to be consistent with the intentions and business practices which are the substance of the Model Interchange Agreement.
3. In negotiating and entering into interchange agreements, the use of the Model Interchange Agreement for the International Commercial Use of Electronic Data Interchange is endorsed.
4. The Model Interchange Agreement for the International Commercial Use of Electronic Data Interchange, be incorporated into Part 3 of the United Nations Trade Data Interchange Directory (UN/TDID) and be part of the recommendations relating to UN/EDIFACT.
5. United Nations member countries could contribute significantly to increasing the legal security of using EDI by promoting, through awareness programs, educational resources and related means, the availability and usefulness of the Model Interchange Agreement as well as commercial business practices relating to international trade which are consistent with the preceding recommendations.
6. When designing and implementing the use of EDI for administrative functions relating to international trade transactions, administrative bodies and organisations,though having distinctive requirements to be considered, should evaluate and give consideration to the expanding commercial use of interchange agreements as well as the terms and business practices which are contained in the Model Interchange Agreement.
