[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 205 (Thursday, October 23, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60625-60626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26738]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Foreign Assets Control

31 CFR Part 575


Exclusion of Certain Transactions With Respect to Certain Iraqi 
Property From the Scope of a General License

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.

ACTION: Policy statement.

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SUMMARY: The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control 
(``OFAC'') has excluded certain transactions from the scope of the 
general license found in 31 CFR 575.533(a). This exclusion prohibits 
any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or 
other judicial process with respect to certain property consisting of 
historic and modern books, documents, parchment scrolls, and other 
items pertaining to the Iraqi Jewish community that have been brought 
to the United States for restoration and temporary exhibition.

DATES: Effective August 28, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Foreign Assets Control, 
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20220, tel.: 202/622-2500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 2, 1990, the President issued 
Executive Order 12722, declaring a national emergency with respect to 
Iraq. This order was issued under the authority of, inter alia, the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) 
(``IEEPA''), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and 
section 301 of title 3 of the U.S. Code and imposed economic sanctions, 
including a complete trade embargo, with respect to Iraq. In keeping 
with United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 of August 6, 1990, 
and under the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c), the 
President also issued Executive Order 12724 of August 9, 1990, which 
imposed additional restrictions. The Iraqi Sanctions Regulations, 31 
CFR part 575 (the ``Regulations''), implement

[[Page 60626]]

Executive Orders 12722 and 12724 and are administered by the Treasury 
Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'').
    On May 22, 2003, the United Nations Security Council adopted 
Resolution 1483, which substantially lifted the multilateral economic 
sanctions with respect to Iraq. On May 23, 2003, OFAC issued a general 
license that reflected Resolution 1483 by authorizing most transactions 
that had been prohibited by the Regulations. This general license was 
published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2003, as new Sec.  
575.533 of the Regulations (68 FR 38188-38190).
    Section 575.502 of the Regulations provides that the Director of 
OFAC reserves the right to exclude any person, property, or transaction 
from the operation of any license, or from the privileges therein 
conferred, or to restrict the applicability thereof with respect to 
particular persons, property, transactions, or classes thereof. On 
August 28, 2003, the Director of OFAC exercised this right to exclude 
certain transactions from the scope of the general license contained in 
Sec.  575.533 of the Regulations. The text of the exclusion is 
reproduced below.

Exclusion From License

    Under the authority of section 575.502 of the Iraqi Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 CFR part 575 (the ``Regulations''), except to the 
extent provided in section 203(b)(3) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 
1702(b)(3)), any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, 
garnishment, or other judicial process with respect to the following 
property is hereby prohibited and excluded from the transactions 
authorized in paragraph (a) of Sec.  575.533 of the Regulations:
    Historic and modern books, documents, parchment scrolls, and 
other items discovered in early May 2003 in the basement of the 
Mukhabahrat in Baghdad, most of which pertain to the Jewish 
community, which will be imported into the United States for 
temporary exhibition, including restoration necessary thereto, by 
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

    Dated: September 4, 2003.
R. Richard Newcomb,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
    Approved: September 12, 2003.
Juan C. Zarate,
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes), 
Department of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 03-26738 Filed 10-20-03; 2:24 pm]
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