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This Practice Note provides an introduction to the overall structure of the united nations commission on international trade law arbitration rules (the UNCITRAL rules). The UNCITRAL Rules occupy an important position in contemporary arbitration practice. The UNCITRAL Rules are intended for ad hoc international commercial arbitrations, meaning arbitrations that are not administered by an arbitral institution and, usually, do not proceed under the rules of such an institution. The UNCITRAL Rules may also be used in arbitrations between investors and states which proceed pursuant to a treaty, such as a bilateral investment treaty, where the treaty allows investors to pursue arbitration conducted under those rules.

Unless the parties agree otherwise, the UNCITRAL Rules apply to arbitration agreements concluded on or after 15 August 2010, ie the date the revised UNCITRAL Rules entered into force. The previous UNCITRAL Rules issued in 1976 will continue to apply to all arbitration agreements concluded before that date. Both the 1976 and 2010 UNCITRAL Rules are distinct from UNCITRAL’s Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, adopted in 1985 and revised in 2006, which has been