Dr Muruga Perumal Ramaswamy, an associate professor from the University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Law, was designated as an Official Observer of the 48th Session of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) held in Vienna, Austria, from 29 June to 16 July. The designation was made in Washington D C by the American Society of International Law (ASIL). The role of Dr Ramaswamy as the Official Observer is to contribute to the deliberations at the session of the commission on various legal matters listed on the agenda relating to the harmonisation of international commercial law.
The UNCITRAL is a core legal body of the United Nations with a mandate to further the progressive harmonisation and unification of the law of international trade. The ASIL is a pre-eminent scholarly society in the field of international law, which was established in 1906 and its members are comprised of attorneys, academics, judges, students, and other people with expertise or interest in international law. Dr Ramaswamy is a serving member of the ASIL and its interest groups on different fields of international law. ‘The major challenge as an official observer representing an international organisation like the ASIL is to contribute fruitfully on substantive legal issues without taking a position on behalf of the ASIL or supporting the position of any specific member state or group of states,’ said Dr Ramaswamy.
The work of the UNCITRAL consists of the commission’s annual session and the sessions of the various working groups. The UN Commission Annual Session is the highest-level meeting of the UNCITRAL during which the work of the various working groups of the commission is presented to the member states. ‘In addition to member states, all states that are not members of the commission, as well as interested international organisations, are invited to attend sessions of the commission and of its working groups as observers. Observers are permitted to participate in discussions at sessions of the commission and its working groups to the same extent as members.’
Dr Ramaswamy’s teaching areas include Public International Law, Business Law, Common Law, Comparative Law, International Economic Law, and Foreign Investment Law. He is currently the principal investigator of a research project focused on the ‘Relevance of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) for Macau SAR and other Portuguese Speaking Countries’.
Source: Faculty of Law
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