[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64264-64266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30730]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Public Roundtable on Consumer Aspects of Hague Convention on 
Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice Announcing Public Roundtable.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``FTC''), in consultation 
with other government agencies, will hold a roundtable discussion on 
the consumer aspects of the Proposed Hague Convention on Jurisdiction 
and Foreign Judgments being negotiated by the Hague Conference on 
Private International Law. The latest draft of the Convention can be 
found at http://www.hcch.net/e/workprog/jdgm.html.

[[Page 64265]]


DATES: The roundtable will be held on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, and 
will begin at 9:15 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The roundtable will be held at the Federal Trade Commission, 
Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Please contact 
Maneesha Mithal, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, phone: (202)326-2771, facsimile: (202)326-3392, E-mail: 
[email protected] (preferably by E-mail) if you plan to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maneesha Mithal, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, phone: (202)326-2771, facsimile: 
(202)326-3392, E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since 1992, the U.S. government has been 
negotiating an International Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments 
Convention through the Hague Conference on Private International Law 
(the Convention). The State Department is leading the negotiations, 
assisted by staff of the Department of Justice, the Department of 
Commerce, the FTC and other agencies.
    The Convention would establish international rules on jurisdiction 
and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In June 2001, the 
Hague Conference on Private International Law convened what was to be 
the first session of a two-part conference to finalize the Convention. 
But because many difficult issues remained unresolved, at the 
conclusion of the June conference, Hague Conference delegations were 
unable to decide how to take the negotiations forward. A follow-up 
meeting has been tentatively scheduled for early 2002 to decide whether 
to continue the full project, scale it back in some way, or suspend it.
    The draft Convention text resulting from the June 2001 negotiations 
raises many difficult issues, particularly in the area of e-commerce 
for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) 
transactions, where stakeholders disagree on appropriate jurisdiction 
rules.\1\ Several suggestions have been made for scaling back the 
current text in order to achieve consensus on the Convention, including 
limiting the Convention to enforcement of judgments arising from 
physical torts and B2B contracts containing choice-of-forum clauses. 
The U.S. delegation would like to explore with interested stakeholders 
the possibility of narrowing the Convention to areas where there seems 
to be consensus.
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    \1\ The latest draft of the Convention can be found at http://www.hcch.net/e/workprog/jdgm.html.
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    The FTC is hosting this roundtable as a forum for all interested 
stakeholders to provide input to U.S. government officials on three 
specific issues raised by the draft Convention that are particularly 
relevant to consumer interests: business-to-consumer contracts, 
informational torts, and physical torts.
    Officials from the Department of State, Department of Commerce, and 
Library of Congress will also be participating in the meeting. Each 
session of the roundtable will be moderated by government 
representatives. All attendees are free to participate in the 
discussion; no particular panelists will be chosen beforehand. An 
agenda for the roundtable and questions for discussion of these topics 
are listed below.

9:15: Introductory Remarks

9:30-11:30: Topic 1: Contracts

    With respect to contracts, should the Convention be limited to B2B 
contracts containing choice-of-forum clauses? Why or why not?
    If so, how should the term business be defined? What are the 
concerns of including, for example, non-profit associations and 
libraries within the definition of business?
    If the Convention is limited to B2B contracts containing choice-of-
forum clauses, should all such clauses be upheld or should there be 
exceptions for clauses that are procured as a result of fraud, duress, 
or unconscionability? Should there be exceptions based on 
reasonableness or public policy? Why or why not?
    A concern has been raised that, even if limited to business-to-
business contracts, the Convention could be revised and/or 
reinterpreted in the future to include consumer contracts also. How can 
this concern be addressed?
    If the Convention were limited to B2B choice-of-forum clauses, U.S. 
consumers would not be able to get their judgments enforced abroad 
under the Convention. Are there other international venues where a 
Convention or other vehicle for enforcement of consumer judgments could 
be considered? What else can the U.S. do to address this problem?
    Should the Convention address all B2B contracts, including those 
that do not contain choice-of-forum clauses? Why or why not?
    Some have suggested that consensus is possible on the issue of 
jurisdiction for consumer contracts that do not contain choice-of-forum 
clauses. Should the Convention address consumer contracts without 
choice-of-forum clauses? What are the advantages and disadvantages of 
this approach?

11:45-12:30 pm: Topic 2: Physical Torts

    Should physical torts (i.e., product liability) be included within 
the scope of the Convention? If so, how can physical torts be defined?
    What are the advantages of inclusion? Disadvantages?
    The June 2001 draft of the Convention contains some provisions on 
damages. If physical torts are included in the Convention, are 
stakeholders comfortable with the approach to damages outlined in the 
June 2001 draft of the Convention? Why or why not?
    If physical torts are included in the Convention, should the U.S. 
be willing to give up general doing business jurisdiction in 
international cases involving physical torts? What impact would this 
have on U.S. litigation?

12:30-1:30 pm: Lunch

1:30-3:30 pm: Topic 3: Informational Torts (Intellectual Property, 
Speech Torts)

    Should informational torts (e.g., defamation, copyright, trademark, 
patent infringement) be included within the scope of the Convention? 
Why or why not?
    How can we define informational torts, as opposed to physical 
torts, for purposes of an international Convention?
    Should the Convention distinguish between informational torts 
involving consumers and businesses? If so, how could such a distinction 
be made?
    Should the Convention distinguish between torts that raise First 
Amendment issues and other informational torts? If so, how could such a 
distinction be made?

3:30-5:00 pm: Other Issues/Open Discussion

    Should the Convention address lawsuits where the defendant is sued 
in his or her home forum? Why or why not?
    A proposal has been made to negotiate a multi-track Convention, 
under which a comprehensive Convention would be negotiated, as well as 
a narrower Convention, and countries could decide which Convention to 
sign on to. What are your views with respect to this approach?
    Do attendees have questions for members of the U.S. delegation?

[[Page 64266]]

    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-30730 Filed 12-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M