ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

 

NOVEMBER 14-15, 2002

WASHINGTON, DC

 

International Law Institute

1615 New Hampshire Ave., NW

 

AGENDA

The following agenda is subject to change:

 

THURSDAY AM

10:00 AM: Welcoming comments ILI Director Don Wallace

Opening remarks – Legal Advisor William Taft, IV

Administrative announcements

 

International dispute resolution:

The on-going saga of the Hague Conference draft convention on jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments

 

New York Convention on enforcement of foreign arbitral awards: possible changes

 

International developments: Reports on developments in international organizations, bar associations, NGOs and others.

 

                       Lunch Break 12:15 – 1:30

 

THURSDAY PM

 

Commercial finance reform:

Globalization and the effect of economics-based private law reform, including completion of three multilateral and regional projects on cross-border secured interest financing.

 

The 2001 UNCITRAL Convention on accounts receivable finance

The 2001 UNIDROIT-ICAO Convention on mobile equipment finance

The 2002 OAS CIDIP-VI Model national law on secured finance

 

Committee endorsement will be sought on the principles of the three texts, all of which follow similar commercial law and capital markets fundamentals

 

Securities transactions: A fourth project, a convention on law applicable to securities intermediaries, is scheduled for completion at the Hague in December 2002

 

UNIDROIT: new project on transborder security interests in securities and global shares.

 

UNCITRAL: model law on secured financing

 

  International Franchising: completion by UNIDROIT of the Model Franchise Disclosure Law;  effect on globalization of business entities and cross-border financing

 

Committee endorsement will be sought on the Model Law

 

FRIDAY AM

 

International commercial conciliation: UNCITRAL’s new model law.

 

 Committee endorsement will be sought on the model, which will be part of a new NCCUSL project.

 

Family law and emerging international process:

 

Bilateral and multilateral proposals on child support; protection of children and incapacitated adults

 

Implementation of the Hague Conventions on child adoption and abduction; transfrontier access

 

Federal-state issues affecting cross-border family interests

 

                         Lunch Break 12:15 – 1:30

 

FRIDAY PM

 

Electronic commerce:

Current developments and road blocks; free market laws vs. regulation of commerce

 

Proposals for an omnibus protocol to amend existing multilateral treaties

 

UNCITRAL’s draft convention on e-contract law; virtual goods and data rights.

 

Projections for the PIL field for the coming year

 

International trends, including globalization and the international process

 

Multilateralism and the role of regional bodies, such as the EU, OAS, OHADA and others

 

Lessons from the last years’ developments

 

 

 

Advance topics for a Spring ACPIL meeting:

 

Maritime and transportation law: startup of the latest effort in a 80 year (or more) quest for a unified carriage of goods by sea law; the possibility and pitfalls of a multimodal treaty; and the 2002 OAS Inter-American roadway bill of lading.

 

International securities transactions: the Hague convention on conflicts rules for securities intermediaries in cross-border transfers; start-up of the UNIDROIT project on harmonization of substantive rules for cross-border securities, and possible private law rules for global shares.

 

The Hague judgments convention and international dispute resolution: update and prospects for 2003; developments in alternative dispute resolution, including online and other e-commerce related actions; the ALI-UNIDROIT transborder procedure project.

 

Outer space finance: negotiations on rules for private law financing in outer space , and the relationship of the 2001 Cape Town (UNIDROIT) convention on mobile equipment finance to the existing UN Outer Space treaty system and public international law.

 

International insolvency law reform: relation to goals of the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB and others; private law concepts of reorganization applied to sovereign debt; incorporation of the 1997 UNCITRAL model law into US bankruptcy law.

 

International project finance: continuing progress of the late 20th century movement toward public-private sector partnerships for infrastructure development, especially in developing countries.

 

OAS-sponsored CIDIP-VII conference: proposals for PIL topics

 

                        Recommendations for additional topics are welcome.