andinternational tradeaswellasinadministration services, "Noting alsothatlegalrulesbaseduponpre-ADP paper-based means ofdocumenting international trademaycreateanobstacle tosuchuseof ADPinthattheyleadtolegalinsecurity orimpedetheefficient useof ADPwhereitsuseisotherwise justified, "Noting further withappreciation theefforts oftheCouncil of Europe, theCustoms Co-operation Council andtheUnitedNations Economic Commission forEuropetoovercome obstacles totheuseofADPin international tradearising outoftheselegalrules, "Considering atthesametimethatthereisnoneedfora unification oftherulesofevidence regarding theuseofcomputer records ininternational trade,inviewoftheexperience showing that substantial differences intherulesofevidence astheyapplytothe paper-based systemofdocumentation havecausedsofarnonoticeable harm tothedevelopment ofinternational trade, "Considering alsothatthedevelopments intheuseofADPare creating adesirability inanumberoflegalsystems foranadaptation of existing legalrulestothesedevelopments, having dueregard, however, totheneedtoencourage theemployment ofsuchADPmeansthatwould provide thesameorgreater reliability aspaper-based documentation, (a)Recommends toGovernments: (i)toreviewthelegalrulesaffecting theuseofcomputer records asevidence inlitigation inordertoeliminate unnecessary obstacles totheiradmission, tobeassured thattherulesare consistent withdevelopments intechnology, andtoprovideA/CN.9/333 English Page4 appropriate meansforacourttoevaluate thecredibility ofthe datacontained inthoserecords; (ii)toreviewlegalrequirements thatcertain trade transactions ortraderelated documents beinwriting, whether the written formisacondition totheenforceability ortothevalidity ofthetransaction ordocument, withaviewtopermitting, where appropriate, thetransaction ordocument toberecorded and transmitted incomputer-readable form; (iii)toreviewlegalrequirements ofahandwritten signature orotherpaper-based methodofauthentication ontraderelated documents withaviewtopermitting, whereappropriate, theuseof electronic meansofauthentication; (iv)toreviewlegalrequirements thatdocuments for submission togovernments beinwriting andmanually signedwitha ~ viewtopermitting, whereappropriate, suchdocuments tobe submitted incomputer-readable formtothoseadministrative services whichhaveacquired thenecessary equipment andestablished the necessary procedures; (b)Recommends tointernational organizations elaborating legal textsrelated totradetotakeaccount ofthepresent Recommendation inadopting suchtextsand,whereappropriate, toconsider modifying existing legaltextsinlinewiththepresent Recommendation." 11/ 3.Thisrecommendation wasendorsed bytheGeneral Assembly inresolution 40/71,paragraph 5(b),of11December 1985asfollows: "TheGeneral Assembly, •••CallsuponGovernments andinternational organizations totake action, whereappropriate, inconformity withtheCommission's recommendation soastoensurelegalsecurity inthecontext ofthe widestpossible useofautomated dataprocessing ininternational trade;•••'".~/ 4.Atitsnineteenth andtwentieth sessions (1986and1987,respectively), theCommission hadbeforeittwofurther reports onthelegalaspects of automatic dataprocessing, Q/whichdescribed andanalysed theworkof international organizations activeinthefieldofautomatic dataprocessing. 5.Atitstwenty-first session (1988), theCommission considered the proposal toexamine theneedtoprovide forthelegalprinciples thatwould applytotheformation ofinternational commercial contracts byelectronic meansandparticularly through themediumofvisualdisplay screens. Itwas notedthattherecurrently existed norefined legalstructure forthe important andrapidly growing fieldofformation ofcontracts byelectronic meansandthatfutureworkinthatareacouldhelptofillalegalvacuum and toreduceuncertainties anddifficulties encountered inpractice. The Commission requested theSecretariat toprepare apreliminary studyonthe topic.1/ 6.Atthetwenty-second session (1989),itwasdecided thatapreliminary reportwouldbesubmitted bytheSecretariat tothetwenty-third session of theCommission. ~/• •• • •A/CN.9/333 English Page5 7.Itmaybenotedthatinpriorreports totheCommission andinthe reports oftheCommission, thesubject hasbeenconsidered underthegeneral heading of"automatic dataprocessing" (ADP),whichwasthetermgenerally
**Analysis**
The text discusses the legal aspects of automated data processing (ADP) in international trade, specifically the need to adapt legal rules to the use of computer records and electronic means of authentication. It also touches on the topic of electronic contracting and the need for legal principles to govern the formation of international commercial contracts through electronic means. The text does not mention specific economic development projects, natural resources, or environmental issues, but rather focuses on the legal framework for international trade and commerce.

**Category**
International trade, Science and technology