UNCITRAL document symbols follow a pattern and refer to the body to which the document is submitted, rather than the body where the document originated. Each document carries the same document symbol and date in all language versions.
Also see: Types of UNCITRAL Documents.
refers to the Annual Report of the Commission, where "A" refers to the General Assembly, "/xx" refers to a particular session of the General Assembly, and "/17" identifies the document as supplement 17 to the Official Records of the General Assembly.
refers to a document submitted to the Commission, where "A" refers to the General Assembly, "/CN.9" refers to UNCITRAL, which is the ninth commission reporting to the General Assembly, and "/xxx" is a consecutive number assigned to that particular document. For example, the Report on the 5th UNCITRAL-INSOL Judicial Colloquium on Cross-Border Insolvency, 2003, was assigned the document symbol A/CN.9/554. The letter "A" signifies that the document is a General Assembly document. "/CN.9" refers to UNCITRAL, which is the ninth commission that reports to the General Assembly. "/554" is the sequential number assigned to the identify the document.
refers to a working paper submitted to a working group of the Commission, where "A" refers to the General Assembly, "/CN.9" refers to UNCITRAL, "WG.xx" refers to a working group where ".xx" represents a roman numeral designating the particular working group, and "WP.xxx" designates the document as a working paper where ".xxx" is a consecutive number assigned to working papers of that particular working group. For example, document symbol A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.86/Add.1 was assigned by the Secretariat to the Draft Guide to Enactment of the UNCITRAL Uniform Rules on Electronic Signatures. "/WG.IV" refers to Working Group IV, the Working Group on Electronic Commerce, "/WP.86" indicates that the document is a working paper, in this case number 86, for consideration by the Working Group at one of its sessions, and "/Add. 1" indicates that the document was issued as an addendum to working paper 86.
In addition to the basic components of symbols listed above, a final component may be included to indicate designate the nature of the document.
Such final symbols include:
which refers to an addendum;
which refers to a corrigendum (corrigenda are not necessarily issued in all languages);
which refers to a revision which replaces text previously issued;
which refers to a document which was reissued for technical reasons.
indicates that the document is a summary record of a meeting, associating individual speakers and their comments. Summary records are typically prepared for sessions of the Commission in the preparation of a legal text but not for sessions of the Commission that do not relate to its legislative function in the preparation of a particular draft text, nor are they prepared for meetings of working groups.