[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 38070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17961]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3094]


Proposed Unidroit Convention on International Equipment Finance 
and a Protocol on Aircraft Transactions; Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: The International Commercial Finance Study Group of the 
Department's Advisory Committee on Private International Law will hold 
its next meeting in Washington, DC at the Department of Transportation 
on Friday, July 23 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The subject will be 
international efforts to enhance through a new treaty system to enhance 
the use of secured financing for mobile equipment, with a particular 
focus at this stage on the air transportation industry.

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Agenda

    The agenda, subject to available time, will include: a review of 
the purpose of the proposed UNIDROIT Convention on international 
interests in mobile equipment; the results of the first 
intergovernmental meeting in February 1999 at Rome co-sponsored by 
UNIDROIT and ICAO, and issues expected to be on the table at the second 
intergovernmental meeting scheduled for August at Montreal; proposals 
for establishment of an internationally-linked registry system for 
finance interests; the proposed treaty structure and its intersection 
with national commercial and civil aviation laws and the Chicago and 
Geneva Conventions on civil aviation; and time permitting, possible 
future treaty protocols on railway rolling stock, space equipment and 
satellites, and possibly other types of equipment.

Background

    The United States has been participating with other countries in 
preliminary negotiations on a proposed multilateral convention 
(UNIDROIT Convention) to protect international secured interests in 
mobile equipment, including aircraft, space and satellite equipment, 
railroad rolling stock, cargo containers, etc. Other international 
organizations participate as co-sponsors as appropriate, such as ICAO 
with respect to aircraft and airline issues. The first 
intergovernmental meeting was held in Rome in February, 1999. 
Completion of the basic convention, as well as the first equipment 
protocol concerning aircraft, is expected by the end of year 2000.
    The proposed Convention and Aircraft Equipment Protocol together, 
when and if adopted and enacted into law by contracting states would 
provide a comprehensive international system to protect leasing and 
financing interests and stimulate the development of airline industries 
in countries in all world regions.
    Significant features are expected to include parties' ability to 
create internationally enforceable interests pursuant to the 
Convention; default remedies, priorities, and establishment of an 
international registration system to record international consensual 
interests; treatment of non-consensual interests; assignments, 
prospective assignments, and subordinations; and optional provisions on 
key finance issues such as timeliness of remedies, relation to 
insolvency, etc. It is anticipated that an international registration 
system would be primarily an electronic notice system, and would not 
interfere with countries' national registration and recordation systems 
under existing civil aviation treaties.

Attendance

    The meeting will be held in Conference Room 3202 at the Department 
of Transportation, 301 7th Street, SW Washington, DC, and is open to 
the public. Persons wishing to attend should contact Peter Bloch, 
Department of Transportation, Office of General Counsel at 202-366-
9183, fax 366-9188, or Harold Burman, Department of State, Office of 
Legal Adviser, at 202-776-8421, fax 776-8482. Copies of relevant 
documents will be provided free of charge by contacting Mr. Burman at 
the above numbers.
Harold S. Burman,
Executive Director, Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private 
International Law, United States Department of State.
[FR Doc. 99-17961 Filed 7-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-P