Call for Papers: HNLU-UNCITRAL RCAP International Symposium on Access to Credit for MSMEs, HNLU Raipur [Online; 8 Dec 2026]

Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) Raipur, through its Center for WTO & WIPO Studies, School of Law & Technology, is organising the HNLU-UNCITRAL RCAP International Symposium on Access to Credit for MSMEs: Secured Transactions, Trade Finance, and the UNCITRAL Model Laws. It is held under UNCITRAL Asia-Pacific Days 2026, "Celebrating 60 Years of UNCITRAL and the Road Ahead", to commemorate 60 years of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. The symposium takes place on 8 December 2026 in online mode.

It will examine how modern secured-transactions frameworks can help close the MSME financing gap, while addressing the practical challenges created by cross-border trade, digitalisation and evolving forms of commercial collateral. Its central premise is that legal reform must be connected to practical bankability, enforceability, institutional confidence and inclusive access to finance.

MSMEs contribute to employment, innovation, domestic production and participation in international trade, yet continue to struggle to obtain affordable and reliable institutional credit. Lending has relied heavily on immovable property as security, although much MSME productive capital is movable or intangible, such as inventory, receivables and equipment. The call points to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Secured Transactions (2016), the UNCITRAL Guide on Access to Credit for Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (2023) and the UNCITRAL-UNIDROIT Model Law on Warehouse Receipts (2024), and to new questions raised by electronic warehouse receipts, digital receivables, data and tokenised assets.

• Inaugural ceremony
• Panel discussion on "The Future of MSME Finance: UNCITRAL Frameworks, Cross-Border Trade and Emerging Challenges"
• Paper presentations in technical sessions

• MSME Credit Gap: Global and Domestic Perspectives
• Movable Assets and Receivables as Collateral
• Creation, Perfection, Registration and Priority of Security Interests
• Enforcement and Creditor Remedies
• Cross-Border Secured Transactions and Conflict of Laws
• Implementation of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Secured Transactions
• Balancing Creditor Protection and Productive Use of MSME Assets

The sub-themes are indicative and non-exhaustive.

Research papers in English are invited from academicians, researchers, legal practitioners, policymakers, professionals, industry experts, banking and financial-sector professionals, economists, management and business scholars, doctoral scholars and students from India and abroad. Contributions are particularly encouraged from interdisciplinary fields including law, economics, banking and finance, business and management, international trade, commerce, development studies, public policy and financial technology.

• Maximum 8,000-10,000 words, inclusive of abstract and footnotes
• Bluebook citation (21st edition)
• Co-authorship of up to two authors is allowed
• Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 spacing, justified alignment

Submitting a full paper does not guarantee acceptance for presentation. Papers are shortlisted on quality, originality, academic rigour and relevance to the theme, and only shortlisted papers are considered for presentation. Selected papers may also be considered for publication as an edited book, subject to the prescribed editorial and publication requirements.

There is no registration fee.

Full papers are submitted through the official Google Form. A separate form is provided for participation only, without a paper. The paper form asks for author and co-author details, the title, the sub-theme, and the final paper in both Word (.docx) and PDF formats.

• Full paper submission deadline: 25 November 2026
• Notification of acceptance of full paper: 28 November 2026
• Registration deadline: 1 December 2026
• International Symposium: 8 December 2026

Dr. Ankit Awasthi, Head, Centre for WTO & WIPO Studies, SLT, HNLU Raipur. Email: cws@hnlu.ac.in. Phone: +91-7355235075 (WhatsApp or voice call).