ELI President, Prof Dr Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, participated in a lunchtime side event held alongside the UNCITRAL Working Group IV (Electronic Commerce) discussions in Vienna. ELI Scientific Director Prof Dr Christiane Wendehorst and ELI Council member Anna Skrjabina also attended the Working Group meeting and the event, which brought together delegates and observers to explore the further development of the UNCITRAL-ELI Model Contractual Terms on Automated Contracting.

The project is a joint initiative intended to provide practical legal solutions for the growing use of AI agents and automated systems in commercial transactions. Jae Sung Lee of the UNCITRAL Secretariat and Simona Staikova-Van Bommel of the European Commission contributed to the discussion. President Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell presented ELI’s work and possible next steps. The exchange benefited from feedback from Working Group delegates and observers and will inform further work on the Model Contractual Terms.

ELI is also represented as an observer in the relevant European Commission expert group and is its contractor,  helping to ensure that the respective initiatives develop in a complementary manner, while remaining within their respective mandates.