## I. Introduction

- 1. The Working Group may wish to recall that at its thirty-seventh session in April 2019, it had considered a number of proposals for a workplan and had agreed to discuss, elaborate and develop multiple potential reform solutions simultaneously. The Working Group had further agreed that a project schedule should be prepared to move the proposed solutions forward in parallel, to the maximum extent of the Working Group's capacity and in light of the tools available (A/CN.9/970, para. 81). Accordingly, a project schedule was agreed by the Working Group at its thirty-eighth session in October 2009 (A/CN.9/1004*, paras. 25 and 27). During the deliberations, the Working Group considered different means to implement the project schedule as outlined in document A/CN.9/WG.III/WP.158. It was agreed that the Working Group would consider the use of means and tools to enhance the efficient use of its conference time, when appropriate and in accordance with the practice of UNCITRAL, particularly in light of the complexity of the project and the need to develop multiple reform options.
- 2. The Working Group further agreed that such tools could include informal meetings on the margins of Commission and Working Group sessions, drafting groups, colloquiums, joint meetings with other international organizations, intersessional meetings, and further interactions with the Academic Forum and the Practitioners' Group (A/CN.9/970, para. 58).
- 3. The Working Group was scheduled to consider, at its thirty-ninth session in the first half of 2020, among other things, how to plan its future work and whether to request additional session time from the Commission given its workload. However, that session could not take place as scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, a number of informal consultations were conducted prior to the fifty -third session of the Commission on how to implement the work of the Working Group.
- 4. At its fifty-third session, the Commission considered the resource requirements for the implementation of the work programme with respect to investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) reform (referred to below as the 'ISDS Project') based on a note 1 by the Secretariat (A/CN.9/1011). Due to the limited time available at that session and divergence in views, the Commission was not able to come to a consensus on a proposed way forward and agreed that the topic would be considered at its session in 2021. In the meantime, the Commission encouraged the Working Group to continue 2 to make progress on its mandate.
- 5. The Working Group, at its thirty-ninth session in October 2020, agreed on the process to develop a work and resourcing plan to support its work (together, the 'Plan'): (A/CN.9/1044, para. 113). Delegations interested in participating in the development of an initial draft of the work plan identified themselves in November 2020. With the support of the Secretariat, t he chair and the rapporteur worked with all such delegations from November 2020 to January 2021 to prepare an initial draft. The Secretariat also coordinated closely with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) during the same period.