DSI Legal Reform Advisory Board announces new Chair

Mr Wieck is joined by three Vice-Chairs: Luca Castellani, legal officer of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and one of the drafters of the Model Law on Electronic Transferrable Records; Vashti Maharaj, Head of Digital Trade Policy with the Commonwealth; and Chantal Ononaiwu, Trade Policy and Legal Specialist Office of Trade Negotiations from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

ICC Executive Board member Valentina Mintah steps down from her role as Co-Chair having served on the Legal Reform Advisory Board since 2022.

Since its inception in January 2022, the Legal Reform Advisory Board has played a pivotal role in the global campaign to remove legal barriers to seamless digital trade, and engage countries and policymakers in creating an enabling policy environment for digital trade to take root.

John Denton, ICC Secretary General said:

“The DSI Legal Reform Advisory Board leadership has a huge amount of expertise, and truly global reach, on the issue of legal reform. We look forward to supporting them in their advocacy work towards sustainable, inclusive, digital trade. The momentum is real, and 2024 will be pivotal.” 

The Legal Reform Advisory Board, which brings together a wide range of policy, legal, and financial expertise on trade digitalization, was instrumental in creating a monitoring framework to track global alignment to Model Law on Electronic Transferrable Records (MLETR).

Mr Wieck, who has been serving as Interim Chair since September 2023, said:

“As a representative of ICC’s national committees in the Legal Reform Advisory Board, I am very excited to contribute to shaping and promoting a globally comparable legal framework for the digitisation of global trade transactions.”

Mr Castellani said: 

“I look forward to contributing to the work of ICC DSI on promoting the broader adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records, and, more generally, the digital transformation of trade. It is particularly important to include developing countries in those efforts in order to mitigate the digital divides.”

Ms Maharaj said: 

“Within the Commonwealth legal reform to digitalize trade can be a true catalyst and game changer, particularly for developing states and it is my sincere honour to contribute to the dynamic work of the Legal Reform Advisory Board in creating a globally interoperable, integrated and enabling legal environment for trade facilitation.”

Ms Ononaiwu said: 

“Trade Policy and Legal Specialist Office of Trade Negotiations from CARICOM, “I look forward to supporting the efforts of the Legal Reform Advisory Board to promote an enabling legal environment for paperless trade, which can greatly benefit small economies, like those in CARICOM, that are highly dependent on trade.”

For more information about the ICC DSI, including tools and reports, please visit https://www.dsi.iccwbo.org/.