[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71095-71096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26923]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Recognition by Singapore of U.S. Law Schools Under the U.S.--
Singapore Free Trade Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments concerning recognition by Singapore of 
U.S. law schools under the U.S.--Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
seeking public comment in selecting four U.S. law schools whose degrees 
will be recognized by Singapore for admission to the Singapore bar, as 
required under the U.S.--Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

DATES: Written comments are due by noon, Monday, January 3, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected]. 
Submissions by facsimile: Janice Shields, Office of Southeast Asia, the 
Pacific and Pharmaceutical Policy, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, (202) 395-6813. The public is strongly encouraged to 
submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. (See 
requirements for submissions below.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions should be directed to Elena 
Bryan, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia 
and the Pacific, (202) 395-6813 or Will Martyn, Associate General 
Counsel, (202) 395-3582.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    The U.S.--Singapore Free Trade Agreement (``FTA'') entered into 
force on January 1, 2004. The text of the FTA, including side letters, 
can be found on the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Singapore_FTA/Final_Texts/Section_Index.html. 
As part of its obligations in the FTA, Singapore committed to the 
recognition of the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence (``J.D.'') or 
equivalent law degree, conferred by one of four U.S. law schools to be 
designated later, for the purposes of admission into the Singapore Bar.
    At the time of signature of the FTA, Singapore and the United 
States also signed a side letter on legal services, which establishes 
the following criteria for such recognition:
    (a) Such recognition will only be conferred on persons who are 
Singapore citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents at the time they 
receive the J.D. or equivalent law degree from one of the four 
designated U.S. law schools;
    (b) Such recognition will only apply to a J.D. or equivalent law 
degree obtained by a full-time internal candidate (as defined in 
Singapore legislation) after a 3-year course of study, the entire 
course of which was conducted within the United States;
    (c) Such recognition will only be conferred on persons who have 
been ranked by the law school as being amongst the highest 40 percent, 
in terms of academic performance, of the total number of law school 
graduates in the same batch who have been conferred that degree by that 
law school; and
    (d) The person seeking recognition must obtain the Diploma in 
Singapore law conferred by the National University of Singapore, attend 
and pass the Postgraduate Legal Practice Course organized by the Board 
of Legal Education, complete the prescribed periods of pupilage, and 
comply with all other requirements which may be imposed from time to 
time by Singapore on graduates from non-Singapore law schools provided 
that such additional requirements does not discriminate against 
graduates of U.S. law schools vis-a-vis graduates from other non-
Singapore law schools.
    Singapore has proposed that the law schools of Columbia University, 
Harvard University, New York University and Yale University be so 
designated.

2. Public Comment

    USTR invites written comments on whether the law schools of 
Columbia University, Harvard University, New York University and Yale 
University should be designated as the four whose degrees will be 
recognized by Singapore. Submitters who oppose designation of one or 
more of these law schools should provide reasons for opposition, 
propose an alternative law school, and provide reasons that this 
alternative should be accepted.
    Written comments must be received no later than noon, Monday, 
January 3, 2005.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response 
to this notice. In the event that an e-mail submission is impossible, 
submissions should be made by facsimile.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: Singapore FTA-Law Schools' followed by ``Written 
Comments.'' Documents should be submitted as either Adobe PDF, 
WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation 
submitted as spreadsheets is acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. For 
any document containing business confidential information submitted 
electronically, the file name of the business confidential version 
should begin with the characters ``BC-''. A public version of the 
document should also be submitted, with a file name beginning with the 
characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-''should be followed by the name 
of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by e-mail should not 
provide separate cover letters; information that might appear in a 
cover letter should be included in the submission itself. Similarly, to 
the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be 
included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate 
files.
    All documents will be placed in a file open to public inspection 
pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except confidential business information 
exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. 
Confidential business information submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 
2003.6 must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top of 
each page, including any cover letter or cover page, and must be 
accompanied by a nonconfidential summary of the confidential 
information. All public documents and nonconfidential summaries shall 
be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR 
Reading Room is open to the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m. 
to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment 
to review the file may be made by calling (202) 395-6186. Appointments 
must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.

[[Page 71096]]

    General information concerning USTR may be obtained by accessing 
its Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov).

Barbara Weisel,
Assistant United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 04-26923 Filed 12-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-P