[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11627-11628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4667]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3546]


Proposed Convention Sponsored by UNIDROIT on International 
Equipment Finance and Draft Protocol on Space Equipment; Meeting Notice

ACTION: The Space Finance Study Group of the State Department's 
Advisory Committee on Private International Law will meet in 
Washington, DC on Thursday, March 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The 
Study Group will review and comment on a draft protocol on space 
equipment which would amend provisions of a proposed UNIDROIT 
convention on international secured financing for high-value mobile 
equipment, with a particular focus on the space equipment industry and 
implications for the provision of space-based services.

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Agenda

    The meeting will cover the status and purposes of the proposed 
(UNIDROIT) Convention on international interests in mobile equipment; 
the application of asset-based financing to space equipment; the 
revised draft protocol on space equipment; the revised draft protocol 
on aircraft; the upcoming meeting on the space protocol and the 
relationship to the outer space treaty system at the Legal Subcommittee 
of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space 
(UNCOPUOS); and related developments in the space industry.
    The intersection with the Uniform Commercial Code in the United 
States and secured finance laws in other countries will be considered, 
as well as related developments on international secured financing at 
UNCITRAL (the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) and 
the OAS (Organization of American States).
    The relationship between the proposed Space Equipment Protocol and 
the outer space treaty system will be reviewed, with particular 
attention to provisions on control and liability. In addition, options 
for establishment of an international computer-based registry of 
financial interests as contemplated by the new treaty system, and its 
relationship, if any, to the existing registration of space objects at 
UNCOPUOS, will be examined.

Background

    The United States is a member of UNIDROIT (The International 
Institute for the Unification of Private Law) and has been an active 
participant in negotiations on a proposed multilateral convention 
(UNIDROIT Convention) to provide for the creation and enforceability of 
international secured finance interests in mobile equipment, 
specifically including at this stage aircraft, to be followed by space 
and satellite equipment, and railway rolling stock. A Space Working 
Group (SWG) authorized by UNIDROIT has prepared the current draft 
protocol on provisions specific to space equipment financing. 
Completion of the basic Convention and Aircraft Protocol is expected by 
the fall of 2001.
    Completion of protocols on space and rail equipment is expected to 
follow. The proposed Convention and equipment specific protocols can 
enhance the development of equipment industries, as well as the 
capacity of many countries to finance such equipment and related 
services, through private sector capital markets.
    Key features of the draft Convention include the creation of 
internationally

[[Page 11628]]

enforceable financing interests; establishment of an international 
computer-based registry system for notice and priority of finance 
interests; and optional provisions on key issues such as certain 
expedited remedies, insolvency, etc. The convention and space protocol 
would not amend any provisions of the space treaty system, nor affect 
the existing object registry functions of UNCOPUOS.

Attendance

    The meeting will be held at the International Law Institute (ILI) 
in Washington, D.C., 1615 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. The meeting is 
open to the public, subject to rulings of the Chair. Persons wishing to 
attend should contact Harold Burman, Office of Legal Adviser (L/PIL), 
at 202-776-8421, fax 776-8482, email [email protected], or Kenneth 
Hodgkins, Office of Space and Advanced Technology, (OES/SAT), 202-663-
2398, fax 663-2404, email [email protected], by Monday, March 5.

Documents

    A revised draft space protocol, prepared by the Space Working 
Group, and a joint report by the Secretariats of UNCOPUOS and UNIDROIT 
are available in United Nations (UNCOPUOS) document A/AC.105/C.2/L.225, 
dated Jan. 22, 2001, which also contains a revised draft of the base 
convention. The base convention is also available at www.UNIDROIT.org. 
Commentators unable to obtain a timely copy of the space protocol 
through UN document repositories can request one from the Office of 
Legal Adviser, by contacting Rosie Gonzales at 202-776-8420, fax 776-
8482, or by email at [email protected]. Persons unable to attend the 
meeting can provide comments at any of the above contact points.

Harold S. Burman,
Executive Director, Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private 
International Law, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 01-4667 Filed 2-23-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-P