Introduction
1. At its forty-sixth session, in 2013, the Commission requested that a working
group should commence work aimed at reducing the legal obstacles encountered by
micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) throughout their life cycle.1
At that session, the Commission took note of the broad consensus among the
participants at the second UNCITRAL colloquium on microfinance, organized in
Vienna in January 2013, that such a working group should be established.
2. At that same session, the Commission agreed that consideration of the issues
pertaining to the creation of an enabling legal environment for MSMEs should
initially focus on legal questions surrounding the simplification of business
incorporation and registration. It was further agreed that other topics to be
considered in the context of MSMEs at a later date included: (a) a system for
resolving disputes between borrowers and lenders; (b) effective access to financial
services; (c) guidance on ensuring access to credit; and (d) insolvency.2
3. As noted in the materials before the Commission and during its deliberations
at its forty-sixth session, in 2013, in addition to reducing barriers to MSMEs
entering the formal economy and thus, inter alia, helping them to maximize their
economic potential, work on the simplification of business incorporation and
registration could have additional salutary international effects. In particular, it was
noted that an internationally recognized form of business registration could be
expected to facilitate cross-border trade for MSMEs operating in regional markets,
since it would provide a recognizable international basis for transactions and avoid
problems that may arise because of a lack of recognition of the business form of the
enterprise.