[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2934-2935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1077]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 2958]


Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private International 
Law; Study Group on International Family Support Enforcement Meeting 
Notice

    There will be a public meeting of the Study Group on International 
Family Support Enforcement of the Secretary of State's Advisory 
Committee on Private International Law on Friday, January 29, 1999. The 
meeting will be held from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM in Room 1107 of the U.S. 
Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20520. The 
purpose of the meeting is to assist the Department of State to prepare 
the position of the U.S. delegation to a special commission session of 
the Hague Conference on Private International Law, April 13-16, 1999.
    The Hague Conference on Private International Law (of which the 
United States is a member state) has scheduled the special commission 
session to review the operation of existing conventions dealing with 
the establishment, recognition, and enforcement of family support 
orders, and to explore the desirability of developing over the next 
four years a new Hague Convention on the enforcement of family support 
obligations. Such a convention could incorporate and revise certain 
features of the support enforcement process now included in the 1956 
United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance, 268 
U.N.T.S. 3 (1957); and four Hague conventions dealing with applicable 
law and recognition orders--1956 Convention sur la loi applicable aux 
obligations alimentaires envers les

[[Page 2935]]

enfants [Applicable law Convention], 510 U.N.T.S. 161 (1964); 1958 
Convention concernant la reconnaissance et l'execution des decisions en 
matiere d'obligations alimentaires envers les enfants [Recognition and 
Enforcement Convention], 539 U.N.T.S. 27 (1965); 1973 Convention on the 
Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance 
Obligations 1021 U.N.T.S. 209 (1976); and 1973 Convention on the Law 
Applicable to Maintenance Obligations, 1056 U.N.T.S. 199 (1977). The 
Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference is preparing a report for the 
special commission that will set out in more detail the issues to be 
before it during the April session. A preliminary draft version of that 
report is available for consideration at the Study Group meeting.
    The United States is not currently a party to any treaties or 
conventions addressing the enforcement of family support obligations, 
which are ordinarily a matter of state law in the United States. Many 
of the states of the United States do have nonbinding, reciprocal 
arrangements with foreign countries on the enforcement of family 
support obligations. Moreover, under the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, 
authority to enter into reciprocal arrangements on a bilateral basis 
has also been given to the federal government. 42 U.S.C. 659A. A new, 
multilateral convention would most likely require additional statutory 
authority for implementation.
    Persons interested in the Study Group or in attending the January 
29 meeting in Washington may request copies of the documents under 
consideration at the meeting, including the conventions listed above 
and the draft report in preparation by the Permanent Bureau. Documents 
may be requested from Ms. Rosie Gonzales by fax at 202-776-8482, by 
telephone at 202-776-8420, or by email to <[email protected]>, attention 
Study Group on Family Support Enforcement. Please note the documents 
requested, name, telephone number, and mailing address.
    The meeting of the study group is open to the public up to the 
capacity of the meeting room. Because access to the State Department 
building is controlled, any person wishing to attend should provide Ms. 
Gonzales the following information no later than Friday, January 22, 
1999: name, Social Security number, date of birth, affiliation, 
address, phone, fax numbers, and email address. Participants must use 
the main entrance of the State Department building, on C Street between 
21 and 23rd Streets, NW, where someone will be available to assist 
their entry. Persons who cannot attend but nevertheless wish to be 
included on the Department's mailing list of interested persons may 
also provide Ms. Gonzales with their company's or organization 
affiliations, mailing and email addresses, and fax and telephone 
numbers.
    Any person who is unable to attend, but who wises to have his or 
her views considered, may send comments to Ms. Gonzales at the above 
fax or email address, or may address them to Office of the Assistant 
Legal Adviser for Private International Law (L/PIL), Suite 203, South 
Building, 2430 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037-2800.
Jeffrey D. Kovar,
Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.
[FR Doc. 99-1077 Filed 1-15-99; 8:45 am]
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