VIENNA, 13 October (UN Information Service) – The Islamic Republic of Iran has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (2005) (the “Electronic Communications Convention”). With its ratification, Iran becomes the twenty-first State party to the Convention. The Electronic Communications Convention will enter into force for Iran on 1 May 2026.
In ratifying the Electronic Communications Convention, Iran declared that, in accordance with article 19, paragraph 2 and article 21 of the Convention, the Convention shall not apply to electronic communications, transactions and exchanges specifically excluded under its Electronic Commerce Law approved on 7 January 2004 with subsequent amendments and additions.
The Electronic Communications Convention aims to enhance legal certainty and commercial predictability where electronic communications are used in international contracts. For instance, it provides criteria for establishing functional equivalence between electronic communications and paper documents with respect to legal requirements such as "writing", "original" and "signature". It does so by building upon legal principles and provisions contained in other UNCITRAL texts on electronic commerce, such as the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce. More than 100 States have already adopted or enacted at least one UNCITRAL text on electronic commerce.
The Electronic Communications Convention contributes to an enabling legal framework for end-to-end trade digitalization and is increasingly referenced in digital economy agreements and electronic commerce chapters of trade agreements.
Further information about the Electronic Communications Convention is available on the UNCITRAL website.
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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development.
UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria. For more information, visit: uncitral.un.org.
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For information, please contact:
Neale Bergman
Senior Legal Officer
UNCITRAL secretariat
Email: neale.bergman[at]un.org
