Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL), Study Group on Electronic Commerce; Meeting Notice

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 2957]

Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL), Study

Group on Electronic Commerce; Meeting Notice

The Study Group on Electronic Commerce of the Advisory Committee on

Private International Law (ACPIL) will hold its next meeting from 1:00

to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27 in Washington, DC. The purpose of

the meeting will be to review recent proposals for international rules

on electronic signature and authentication systems to be considered in

February at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

(UNCITRAL).

UNCITRAL has had before it since May 1997 proposals for rules on

certain aspects of electronic signature and authentication systems.

Consensus has been difficult to reach internationally, and the next

meeting of the Commission is expected to determine whether that is

feasible at this point in the development of electronic systems

applications as well as underlying legal and technical rules or

standards. A recent document prepared by the Secretariat on the basis

of consultations with States, UN Doc.A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.80, December 15,

1998, which contains proposed rules will be considered. Background

documents and the status of this project are set out in UN Doc.A/CN.9/

WG.IV/WP.78, December 2, 1998.

The proposed rules cover definitions of electronic and enhanced

electronic signatures, signature holder and information certifier;

compliance with requirements for signatures and originals, the

obligations of signature holders and information certifiers, reliance,

and other matters. At issue is whether they are a workable approach for

international rules, which can at the

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same time bridge the gap between countries who have sought rules

favoring certain existing technologies and those seeking a minimalist

approach until both market and new technology developments become more

clear, and thus the effect on commerce and business applications more

predictable.

The status of ongoing projects at various international bodies,

both intergovernmental and private sector, as well as federal and state

domestic law developments in the United States will be reviewed as

appropriate. These may include recent developments at the OECD, APEC,

the ICC and others, and the status of the proposed Uniform Electronic

Transactions Act (UETA) and Uniform Commercial Code Article 2B, in view

of the close connection between them in an era of globalization of

commerce, information, and borderless connections through data

networks. US proposals for a multilateral convention or bilateral

agreements incorporating relevant provisions of the 1996 UNCITRAL Model

Law will also be reviewed.

Recent UN documents that will be on the table at the Study Group

meeting are available from the Office of Legal Adviser at the contact

numbers indicated below, or at the following UN web page addresses:

http://www.un.or.at/uncitral/english/sessions /wg__ec/wp-80.htm,and wp-

78.htm. For additional background documents on electronic commerce,

including the 1996 UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, as well

as general information on other international law unification projects

at the Commission, such as international project finance, secured

interest financing and commercial arbitration, access the UNCITRAL web

page at www.un.or.at/uncitral/index.html.

The Advisory Committee meeting will take place at the Department of

Commerce at 14th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW in the Secretary's

Conference Room 5855; attendees should use the main entrance on 14th

Street. The meeting is open to the public up to the capacity of the

meeting room; persons who cannot attend are welcome to comment,

including any recommendations for possible U.S. positions on these

matters. For further information, please contact Mark Bohannon, Chief

Counsel for Technology at the Department of Commerce, (202) 482-1984,

fax 482-0253, or Harold Burman, Advisory Committee Executive Director,

at (202) 776-8421, fax 776-8482. Written comments or requests to be

added to the ACPIL mailing list on electronic commerce can be sent to

the Office of Legal Adviser (L/PIL), 2430 ``E'' Street, NW, Suite 355

South Building, Washington, DC 20037-2800.

Harold S. Burman,

Advisory Committee, Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 99-680 Filed 1-11-99; 8:45 am]

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