[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 63905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27430]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3444]


Uncitral Working Group On Arbitration: Possible New Uniform Rules 
On Written Form for Arbitration Agreement, Interim Measures of 
Protection, Mediation and Councilation; Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: The Arbitration and ADR Study Group of the Department's 
Advisory Committee on Private International Law will hold a meeting in 
Washington, DC at the Department of State on Thursday, November 9, 
2000, from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. The subject will be to provide advice to 
the U.S. delegation to the next meeting of the UNCITRAL Working Group 
on Arbitration.

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Agenda

    The meeting will consider the Report of the Secretary-General of 
UNCITRAL on ``Possible Uniform Rules on Certain Issues Concerning 
Settlement of Commercial Disputes: Written Form for Arbitration 
Agreement, Interim Measures of Protection, Conciliation.'' This 
document (no. A/CN/WG.II/WP.110) may be found at the UNCITRAL web page: 
www.uncitral.org. To find it, click on ``Preparatory Documents,'' then 
on ``Working Group on Arbitration,'' then on ``33rd Session.'' 
Depending on the time available, the meeting will also consider the 
Report of the Secretary-General of UNCITRAL on ``Possible Future Work: 
Court-Ordered Interim Measures of Protection in Support of Arbitration, 
Scope of Interim Measures that may be Ordered by Arbitral Tribunals, 
Validity of the Agreement to Arbitrate.'' This document (no. A/CN/
WG.II/WP.111) may also be found at the same location on the UNCITRAL 
website.

Background

    In response to requests from arbitration and mediation experts 
around the world, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law 
(UNCITRAL) has reestablished its Working Group on Arbitration. The 
Working Group has been charged with considering a number of pressing 
issues involving application and interpretation of the 1958 New York 
Convention on the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the 
UNCITRAL Model Law and Rules on Commercial Arbitration. These issues 
include the requirement of written form for arbitral agreements under 
Article 2 of the Convention, about which U.S. courts have taken 
different approaches, and the desirability of preparing model 
provisions on the enforcement of interim measures of protection. In 
addition, the Working Group is charged with considering the 
desirability of drafting a new UNCITRAL Model Law on Conciliation to 
pair with the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules. (Note that the New York 
Convention and the UNCITRAL Model texts may all be found on the 
UNCITRAL website.)
    The Working Group met in March 2000 and agreed in principle to 
begin to draft a Model Law on Conciliation, as well as consider the 
preparation of legal texts in the areas of the written form for 
arbitration agreements and interim measures of protection. The UNCITRAL 
Secretariat has now prepared the Report described above with proposals 
in these areas (Doc. No. A/CN/WG.II/WP.110).
    In addition, the UNCITRAL Secretariat has prepared some preliminary 
background analysis on a number of additional topics that could form 
the basis for future consideration by the Working Group (Doc. No. A/CN/
WG.II/WP.111). These proposals involve aspects of the use of court-
ordered interim measures of protection, the scope of interim measures 
that may be issued by arbitrators, and the validity of agreements to 
arbitrate.

Attendance

    The meeting will be held from 9:30 am to 1 pm in Conference Room 
1105 at the Department of State, 2201 C St., NW., Washington, DC, and 
is open to the public. Because of security requirements for entering 
the building, persons wishing to attend must contact Ms. Rosie 
Gonzales, Office of the Legal Adviser, at 202-776-8420, fax 202-776-
8482, email  [email protected] > no later than Monday November 6. 
Persons wishing to attend should provide Ms. Gonzales with their name, 
date of birth, and social security number. Copies of the pertinent 
documents may be found free of charge on the UNCITRAL website as 
indicated above, or will be provided free of charge by contacting Ms. 
Gonzales at the above numbers.
    Persons not able to attend may provide written comments to Mr. 
Jeffrey Kovar at the following address: 2430 E St., NW., South Bldg., 
Suite 203, Washington, DC 20037-2851.

Jeffrey D. Kovar,
Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law, Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 00-27430 Filed 10-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-P