[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 52 (Monday, March 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 12077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6484]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3914]


Advisory Committee on Law Applicable to Securities 
Intermediaries; Meeting Notice

    The Study Group on International Securities Transactions of the 
State Department's Advisory Committee on Private International Law will 
hold a meeting on Tuesday, March 26, 2002, at the Federal Reserve Bank 
of New York on proposed multilateral treaty rules determining what laws 
are applicable to securities intermediaries, including the law 
applicable to dispositions of securities held through holding systems.
    The drafting of such rules has been undertaken on a fast-track 
basis by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, an 
intergovernmental body on which the United States is represented. The 
meeting will provide an opportunity for public comment on the revised 
draft rules and will facilitate preparation of United States positions 
on whether to support a final meeting to conclude this process in the 
fall of 2002.
    Subject to availability of time, the meeting will review relevant 
developments involving dematerialization and immobilization of 
securities, transfers of interest, and the role of multiple indirect 
and direct holding systems. A www site below contains the draft 
provisions. The proposed scope of the applicable law treaty regime is 
set out in Articles 2 and 3, rules on location relevant to determining 
applicable law in Article 4, rules deferring to insolvency law in 
Article 5, rules for countries with more than one system of law in 
Articles 9 and 16, and transition rules in Article 17.
    Time permitting, the start up of a new project to be undertaken by 
UNIDROIT, a separate intergovernmental body, on the preparation of 
uniform substantive rules on transfer of interests by securities 
intermediaries, as well as clearance and settlement, will be discussed.
    Documentation: The basic study by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague 
Conference, ``Law applicable to disposition of securities held through 
indirect holding systems'', and current revised draft rules are 
obtainable at www.hcch.net. Commentators unable to retrieve these 
documents may request them from the Office of the Assistant 
LegalAdviser for Private International Law (L/PIL) by contacting Rosie 
Gonzales at 202-776-8420, by fax 202-776-8482, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Attendance: The public is invited to attend up to the capacity of 
the meeting room and may participate subject to the rulings of the 
chair. The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New York 
Federal Reserve Bank, 33 Liberty Street. Since access to the building 
is controlled, persons wishing to attend must, prior to c.o.b. Friday, 
March 22, notify Audrey Watson, New York Federal Reserve Bank, of their 
name, address, contact numbers, and affiliation, at 212-720-8403, or by 
fax 212-720-1756. For additional information on the draft convention, 
contact Joyce Hansen, Sr. Vice President, New York Federal Reserve Bank 
at the above numbers, and for information on the law harmonization work 
of the Hague Conference and UNIDROIT, contact Harold Burman, Office of 
the Legal Adviser, 202-776-8421; fax 202 776-8482.

Harold S. Burman,
Executive Director, Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private 
International Law, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 02-6484 Filed 3-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-P