ELI was represented by its President, Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, and by Luca Castellani (IUSE, Italy).

Acting pursuant to the mandate received from the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the HCCH Experts’ Group recently met to discuss private international law aspects of digital tokens and electronic transferable records.

The discussions on digital tokens focused on practical use cases and highlighted the importance of examining tokens within the broader framework of digitally mediated environments, namely environments in which rights and obligations are created and transferred across borders. In this context, the Experts’ Group noted that its work may benefit from the exploratory work currently being undertaken at UNCITRAL on digital platforms, in which the European Law Institute (ELI) is also actively involved.

The meeting also addressed electronic transferable records. Building on Article 19 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), the Experts’ Group began considering the possible content of a future convention dealing with the private international law aspects of electronic transferable records.

Among the matters discussed were issues relating to scope, jurisdiction, applicable law, and mechanisms for international cooperation. One objective under consideration is the development of a legal framework capable of applying to all forms of electronic transferable records, including those that are only partly compliant, or not compliant, with MLETR. The discussions also explored how such a mechanism could prove useful for jurisdictions that have not yet adopted legislation on electronic transferable records.